With our Country Music Hall of Fame rendition of Fantasy Ballots completing itself last month, and with the 2025 inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame being made official last week, it’s now time to jump into the rock round in our game of compiling imaginary ballots for the next five years.
Originally introduced in 1986, the Rock & Roll Hall likewise faces a share of its unique challenges and criticisms. Unlike the Country Hall, the R&R gatekeepers already elect a larger group of inductees each year (thirteen are named for 2025), so there is not necessarily the backlog problem that plagues their country counterparts. With that said, the general rock space is far larger than that of country, so there is nevertheless a laundry list of acts that the general fandom feels have been overlooked. There is also a similar gender-disparity in the Rock Hall, with less than 10% of the current inductees being female, which like in Nashville speaks to a wider industry issue that has generationally prevented more women from breaking through. Their policies on honoring those musical giants that pre-dated the generally agreed upon birthdate of the formal rock & roll genre of 1954 have also been awkward and inconsistent.
The greatest gripe the Rock Hall continues to face however is its genre-fluid criteria that has allowed groundbreaking artists from the spheres of pop, country, R&B, disco, and Hip-Hop to reside in the Hall alongside pure rock artists. There are seemingly two general camps in this argument: 1) those that feel the Rock Hall should be strictly reserved for those artists whose music can be classified within the confines of the actual sound/genre of rock & roll and 2) those that feel the term “rock & roll” has also been synonymous with the overall popular American music spectrum in general, and all of the sounds and genres that fall under that umbrella. I personally see merit in both arguments, though as a genre-agnostic listener, I tend to land in the second camp. Frankly, I would not be opposed with the HOF being renamed the American Music Hall of Fame, given that’s how it basically operates at this stage, and because well, that should absolutely be a real thing!
For the purpose of our exercise, I have used the general, genre-fluid philosophy to build these Fantasy Ballots. With that said, I did make a conscious choice not to include any core country artists. As a lover of country music, I 100% support the recent controversial inductions of names like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson and those before them, and my rough draft of induction choices absolutely includes other deserving country artists. However, there is also a Country Music Hall of Fame (and now a Fantasy Ballots: Country edition) focusing on that field of artists. Let’s use this discussion to focus on those in the rock, pop, etc. fields that are waiting in the wings specifically for R&RHOF recognition.
The selections on each ballot are not necessarily in a specific order; there was more thought put into creating an equally vibrant and diverse class for each year. Ultimately, however my main goal was ending in 2030 with the artists I want to see inducted by then, with the overall list spread out with minimal strategy over the five entries. I’m still following the same eligibility threshold the Hall currently uses: twenty-five years passing after an artist’s initial recorded debut.
See below for links that will be added as we progress through this five-part series, and also reference a complete list of already-elected inductees from the first class in 1986 through the newly-announced class of 2025, which will honor Salt-N-Pepa, Soundgarden, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye, The White Stripes, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Thom Bell, and Lenny Waronker.
Fantasy Ballots- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Conclusion
Complete List of Inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Members
Class of 1986: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey, Robert Johnson, Alan Freed, John Hammond, Sam Phillips
Class of 1987: The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B.B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Jackie Wilson, Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Hank Williams, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Jerry Wexler
Class of 1988: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, The Supremes, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Les Paul, Berry Gordy, Jr.
Class of 1989: Dion, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Ink Spots, Bessie Smith, The Soul Stirrers, Phil Spector
Class of 1990: Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Christian, Ma Rainey, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Holland-Dozier-Holland
Class of 1991: LaVern Baker, The Byrds, John Lee Hooker, The Impressions, Wilson Pickett, Jimmy Reed, Ike & Tina Turner, Howlin’ Wolf, Dave Bartholomew, Ralph Bass, Nesuhi Ertegun
Class of 1992: Bobby “Blue” Bland, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Johnny Cash, The Isley Brothers, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Sam & Dave, The Yardbirds, Elmore James, Professor Longhair, Leo Fender, Bill Graham, Doc Pomus
Class of 1993: Ruth Brown, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Etta James, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, Dinah Washington, Dick Clark, Milt Gabler
Class of 1994: The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Rod Stewart, Willie Dixon, Johnny Otis
Class of 1995: The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, The Orioles, Paul Ackerman
Class of 1996: David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles, The Velvet Underground, Pete Seeger, Tom Donahue
Class of 1997: Bee Gees, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Jackson 5, Joni Mitchell, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Rascals, Mahalia Jackson, Bill Monroe, Syd Nathan
Class of 1998: The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas & the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, Gene Vincent, Jelly Roll Morton, Allen Toussaint
Class of 1999: Billy Joel, Curtis Mayfield, Paul McCartney, Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, The Staple Singers, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Charles Brown, George Martin
Class of 2000: Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Moonglows, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Clive Davis, Hal Blaine, King Curtis, James Jamerson, Scotty Moore, Earl Palmer
Class of 2001: Aerosmith, Solomon Burke, The Flamingos, Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Ritchie Valens, Chris Blackwell, James Burton, Johnnie Johnson
Class of 2002: Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Gene Pitney, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Jim Stewart, Chet Atkins
Class of 2003: AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Police, The Righteous Brothers, Mo Ostin, Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer, Steve Douglas
Class of 2004: Jackson Browne, The Dells, George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Traffic, ZZ Top, Jann Wenner
Class of 2005: Buddy Guy, The O’Jays, The Pretenders, Percy Sledge, U2, Frank Barsalona, Seymour Stein
Class of 2006: Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sex Pistols, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss
Class of 2007: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, R.E.M., The Ronettes, Patti Smith, Van Halen
Class of 2008: The Dave Clark Five, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, John Mellencamp, The Ventures, Gable and Huff, Little Walter
Class of 2009: Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC, Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, Bill Black, D.J. Fontana, Spooner Oldham
Class of 2010: ABBA, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, The Hollies, The Stooges, David Geffen, Otis Blackwell, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Mort Shuman, Jesse Stone, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Class of 2011: Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Tom Waits, Jac Holzman, Art Rupe, Leon Russell
Class of 2012: Beastie Boys, The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Crickets, Donovan, The Famous Flames, Guns N’ Roses, The Midnighters, The Miracles, Laura Nyro, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Faces, Freddie King, Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns
Class of 2013: Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush, Donna Summer, Lou Adler, Quincy Jones
Class of 2014: Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Kiss, Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Brian Epstein, Andrew Loog Oldham, The E-Street Band
Class of 2015: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Green Day, Lou Reed, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Bill Withers, The 5 Royales, Ringo Starr
Class of 2016: Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, N.W.A., Steve Miller, Bert Berns
Class of 2017: Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Yes, Nile Rodgers
Class of 2018: Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Class of 2019: The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music, The Zombies
Class of 2020: Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notrious B.I.G., T. Rex, Irving Azoff, Jon Landau
Class of 2021: Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Jay-Z, Carole King, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner, Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, Gil Scott-Heron, Clarence Avant, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, Randy Rhoads
Class of 2022: Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Harry Belafonte, Elizabeth Cotten, Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, Sylvia Robinson, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Judas Priest
Class of 2023: Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliot, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Don Cornelius, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper, Bernie Taupin
Class of 2024: Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Big Mama Thornton, Suzzane de Passe, Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick, Norman Whitfield
Class of 2025: Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye
The 706 