The Biggest Rock Hall Snubs

There are many great artists who have been overlooked by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The vast majority of these artists have never been nominated for induction. Each year, the final ballot of performers is selected by the Rock Hall Nominating Committee, then sent to the larger Voting Committee for election.

Here are the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's biggest snubs:

ArtistYears Snubbed# of Years Nominated
Afrika Bambaataa211
Alanis Morissette100
Alice In Chains110
Alicia Keys10
Anthrax180
Aphex Twin100
The B-52's230
Bad Brains191
Barry White380
Bauhaus220
Beck81
Belle & Sebastian50
Big Star290
Bikini Kill100
Björk240
Black Flag230
Blue Öyster Cult290
Blur110
Boston250
Brian Eno270
The Buzzcocks240
Can330
Captain Beefheart350
The Carpenters320
The Chemical Brothers60
Chic2411
Coldplay40
The Commodores270
Connie Francis430
Daft Punk70
The Damned250
De La Soul130
The Dead Kennedys220
Devo243
Diana Ross310
Dick Dale430
Echo and the Bunnymen220
Emerson, Lake & Palmer310
Eric B. & Rakim152
Faith No More160
Fiona Apple50
The Flaming Lips170
Fugazi130
Gloria Estefan140
The Guess Who360
Harry Nilsson340
Hüsker Dü200
Ice-T190
INXS211
The Jam240
Jan & Dean410
Jane's Addiction142
The Jesus and Mary Chain170
Jethro Tull330
Jim Croce350
Johnny Burnette and the Rock N Roll Trio450
King Crimson320
Lauryn Hill41
Linkin Park20
Love350
Mariah Carey113
The Marvelettes402
Mary Wells411
Massive Attack130
Megadeth160
The Monkees350
Mötley Crüe200
Motörhead241
My Bloody Valentine160
Nas90
Neu!290
New York Dolls283
Nick Cave170
Nick Drake320
The Offspring130
Pantera180
Patti LaBelle390
Pavement120
Pet Shop Boys170
Peter Tosh250
Peter, Paul & Mary390
Pixies140
PJ Harvey100
The Pointer Sisters280
Procol Harum341
Queens of the Stone Age40
The Replacements201
Roberta Flack320
Rufus with Chaka Khan284
The Runaways250
Scott Walker350
The Shangri-Las380
Silver Apples330
Sinead O'Connor141
Siouxsie & the Banshees230
Slayer180
Sleater-Kinney70
Smashing Pumpkins110
The Smiths182
Snoop Dogg80
Sonic Youth190
The Sonics360
Sparks300
The Specials220
Steppenwolf331
Stone Roses160
Stone Temple Pilots90
The Strokes10
Suicide240
System of a Down40
Tears for Fears200
Television260
Thin Lizzy311
Three Dog Night320
TLC90
Tommy James & the Shondells350
Tool90
Toots & the Maytals390
Tori Amos100
Tracy Chapman130
War313
Weezer70
"Weird Al" Yankovic220
Wilco70
Wire240
X230
XTC240

The artists listed above are currently eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and were selected by Future Rock Legends commenters on the Rock Hall Revisited and the Rock Hall Projected pages.


Backing Groups

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted only the lead performer of certain notable groups, with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles being the most famous example. (Update: In 2012, the Rock Hall inducted The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, and The Miracles, so they have been removed from the list below. The E Street Band was inducted in 2014.) Here are a list of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers with (arguably) snubbed backing groups. Rock Hall Monitors has a comprehensive look at this issue.

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Dion & The Belmonts
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company
Patti Smith Group
Paul McCartney & Wings

Influences

Here are some additional notable candidates who deserve consideration for the Rock Hall because of their influence on the rock era.

Amos MilburnBing Crosby
Blind Lemon JeffersonBlind Willie Johnson
Buchanan & GoodmanCab Calloway
Charles MingusCharlie Parker
Chuck WillisCount Basie
Crew CutsDizzy Gillespie
Django ReinhardtDuke Ellington
Eddie LangElla Fitzgerald
Emmylou HarrisEsther Phillips
Frank SinatraGeorge Jones
Glenn Miller OrchestraHerbie Hancock
Ivory Joe HunterJacques Brel
John CageJohn Coltrane
Johnny AceKarlheinz Stockhausen
Kris KristoffersonLightnin' Hopkins
Lonnie DoneganLoretta Lynn
Memphis MinnieMerle Haggard
Mississippi John HurtOdetta
Patsy ClineRavi Shankar
Roy BrownSarah Vaughan
Scott JoplinScreamin' Jay Hawkins
Serge GainsbourgSon House
Sonny Boy Williamson IISun Ra
The Andrews SistersThe Carter Family
The CloversThe Dominoes
The Four FreshmenThe Kingston Trio
The Mills BrothersThe Ravens
The WeaversThelonious Monk
Tom LehrerTownes Van Zandt
W.C. HandyWaylon Jennings
Wendy CarlosWynonie Harris

Country Artists

Here are the most likely Rock Hall candidates from the arists inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Merle HaggardPatsy Cline
Loretta LynnGarth Brooks
George JonesKris Kristofferson
Glen CampbellEmmylou Harris
The Carter FamilyWaylon Jennings
Roy AcuffKenny Rogers

R&B Artists

Here are the most likely Rock Hall candidates from the arists inducted in the R&B Hall of Fame.

Ella FitzgeraldBen E. King
AaliyahThe Marvelettes
The CloversMary Wells
Charlie ParkerThe Funk Brothers
Barry WhiteDonny Hathaway
New EditionMitch Ryder

After the 2018 inductees were announced, the Cleveland Plain Dealer staff (led by Troy Smith), put together a list of their 100 biggest Rock Hall snubs (Update: Artists honored subsequent to 2018 are noted with their induction year):
  1. Kraftwerk (2021)
  2. Janet Jackson (2019)
  3. Radiohead (2019)
  4. The Smiths
  5. Carole King (2021)
  6. Judas Priest (2022)
  7. King Crimson
  8. Roxy Music (2019)
  9. Nine Inch Nails (2020)
  10. John Coltrane
  11. Iron Maiden
  12. The Cure (2019)
  13. Whitney Houston (2020)
  14. Sonic Youth
  15. The New York Dolls
  16. Big Mama Thornton (2024)
  17. Chic
  18. T. Rex (2020)
  19. Warren Zevon (2025)
  20. Soundgarden
  21. Tina Turner (2021)
  22. Gram Parsons
  23. Link Wray (2023)
  24. Jethro Tull
  25. Mariah Carey
  26. Joy Division
  27. The Shangri-Las
  28. Rage Against the Machine
  29. The Replacements
  30. LL Cool J (2021)
  31. Pixies
  32. MC5 (2024)
  33. Mary Wells
  34. Joe Tex
  35. Dr. Dre
  36. Chuck Willis
  37. Joe Cocker (2025)
  38. The Spinners (2023)
  39. Dick Dale
  40. Black Flag
  41. Depeche Mode (2020)
  42. Eric B. & Rakim
  43. Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones
  44. Smashing Pumpkins
  45. Eurythmics (2022)
  46. Willie Nelson (2023)
  47. Def Leppard (2019)
  48. The Zombies (2019)
  49. Captain Beefheart
  50. Big Star
  1. Junior Walker & the All-Stars
  2. Connie Francis
  3. Peter Tosh
  4. Peter Frampton
  5. Wyonnie Harris
  6. Jane's Addiction
  7. The Marvelettes
  8. The Clovers
  9. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  10. Procol Harum
  11. Motörhead
  12. New Order
  13. Jan and Dean
  14. Salt-N-Pepa (2025)
  15. Slayer
  16. The Runaways
  17. Ben E. King
  18. Pat Benatar (2022)
  19. Duran Duran (2022)
  20. De La Soul
  21. The B-52's
  22. Fugazi
  23. Lonnie Johnson
  24. Ozzy Osbourne (2024)
  25. A Tribe Called Quest (2024)
  26. Pavement
  27. Rufus with Chaka Khan (2023)
  28. Chubby Checker (2025)
  29. Sade
  30. The J.B.'s
  31. The Dominoes
  32. The J. Geils Band
  33. Afrika Bambaataa
  34. Devo
  35. Roy Brown
  36. Todd Rundgren (2021)
  37. Leroy Carr
  38. Peter Paul & Mary
  39. Pat Hare
  40. Ice Cube
  41. The Doobie Brothers (2020)
  42. Megadeth
  43. The Meters
  44. George Michael (2023)
  45. Rick James
  46. Alice In Chains
  47. Bad Company (2025)
  48. The Guess Who
  49. Billy Wright
  50. Phish