(Does that make me compliant with the “do not edit within the quote box” rule?)
I would argue without RATM’s mid-90s success, we don’t have the huge wave of rap/metal “nu-metal” acts in the late 90s/early 00s. (Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, etc) Sure, the Public Enemy/Anthrax collaboration “Bring the Noise” established the blueprint 3 years earlier, but in the music mainstream, that felt more like a one-off.
I didn’t say RATM’s influence was a good influence…
Bolding mine.
This is a weird POV to take, I think, because NO’s “Blue Monday” was quite popular: The song has sold 1.21 million copies in the UK as of October 2015. Overall it has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. – From Wikipedia
I have no opinion on whether New Order can stand on its own or not, but what I find weird is dragging out record sales to justify it. By that measure, Pat Boone should be inducted.
White Stripes, Sheryl Crow, and Missy Elliot are no-brainers. (Missy is the first female rapper to be nominated)
I agree that in terms of album sales, constant touring, and general cultural cachet, it’s impossible to justify the exclusion of Weird Al at this point. OutKast should also be in. I would put Digital Underground ahead of ATCQ.
It’s hard to argue that any group of people wouldn’t be improved by the addition of Willie Nelson, but why is he being nominated for the first time NOW? Did he put out a metal album in 2022 that I missed?
And the complete exclusion of the 80s underground punk scene continues. Dead Kennedys should be in at the very least, but I’m sure Wenner wouldn’t want to give Jello an opportunity to make a speech denouncing him and everything he stands for 
I strongly suspect that Parton’s nomination (and election) last year played a role; it wasn’t like she had suddenly released a rock album, either – and, in fact, at one point during voting, she publicly stated that she didn’t feel she was “rock and roll,” and thus, didn’t think that she belonged in there. (But, once elected, she was gracious and excited by it, and is now apparently actually working on a rock album.)
Nelson, similarly, is revered by generations of rock and pop performers.
I love Zevon and wish he had a wider audience, but now that he’s not around to write a song about being in the HOF there’s no reason to enshrine him.
It’s not supposed to be ALL about record sales, but nobody has ever claimed that isn’t a huge part of it. I did some half-assed research once and it looks like 100 million total sales is around the point at which any vaguely rock-adjacent act will typically get in regardless of artistic merit (George Michael, 120m). I can’t easily find a figure for JD/NO’s career album sales, but I doubt they’re in that league. Which is fine, since their case is clearly based on “influence”.
For me, JD/NO, Warren Zevon, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush and George Michael are the obvious winners. Pretty sure Iron Maiden will supplant one of those.
I can’t understand Sheryl Crow being there: L.A. session player with a couple of light swinging mid-90s hits. Is Sophie B. Hawkins next? Also not feeling it for Rage: they may have sold a lot of discs, but their discography is pretty thin. Who’ll induct them? That guy from Korn?
Don’t get me wrong, despite the Wenner link, I do actually like the Rock Hall a lot. I’ve been to the museum a bunch of times, and the exhibits move me immensely. But the nominating committee is still focussed on hitmakers and linger too long in certain eras. Considering that Roxy Music was eligible for a couple of decades before being inducted shows just how out of touch they are. As long as Mott the Hoople, Big Star, Fairport Convention, Hawkwind, Pere Ubu and The Cramps aren’t in there, I have immense skepticism about the Hall’s judgement.
50 million in album sales, five platinum albums, nine top 40 U.S. hits, nine Grammy Awards. Her music may not be your cup of tea, but she was pretty damned big for much of the '90s.
Jesus, I genuinely had no idea that she’d sold that many. I’m honestly gobsmacked. And very out of touch.
That’s all right, I feel the same way about 95% of popular music from the last 25 years. 
Surprised to see that Cyndi Lauper has also sold over 50 million.
George Michael and Willie Nelson are shoo-ins. Neither is rock and roll per se, but that ship sailed long ago. (As it should have. If you limit it to just rock acts, you then have to define what is and isn’t rock, and that way lies madness.)
My next picks would be The White Stripes and Warren Zevon, for no other reason than I love them both. I have to wonder if it would get Meg back behind the kit. And an all-star set of Zevon songs could be fantastic.
The only real head scratcher here is A Tribe Called Quest. They’re great and all, but I can think of a dozen other hip-hop acts and I’d pick first. (The aforementioned Outkast being one of them, if only to help boost the movement to add them to Stone Mountain.)
Can we get an Amen?
And I’m sorry, but this is the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. People can debate about where the line for ‘rock’ should be drawn but some line needs to exist or else the whole concept of a genre is meaningless.
In the context of being in a rock/pop HALL OF FAME, that is a peak of sales way, way under the average. New Order is by all means a successful band but “Successful band” would fill the HOF to the point they’d need a new facility. There are hundreds of singles more popular than “Blue Monday” by artists that aren’t in the R&R HOF; logically, you’d obviously have to induct the likes of George Michael and Mariah Carey first, of course, plus Bryan Adams, Ace of Base, Lisa Loeb, and Boyz II Men, and those are just the acts in 1994 that had a single bigger than Blue Monday.
Critics ADORE Joy Division, though.
Son and I watch a film about them. Interesting band. Music seemed so depressing, though.
After Dolly Parton was installed, any C&W artist is fair game. Blake Sheldon is only a matter of time.
My votes go to the Fugs and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
My wife listens to a lot of Blake Shelton (ahem) and similar modern C&W stars, and to my ears their music is often just mainstream rock with southern accents and a bit more acoustic guitar. Country artists cover rock tunes all the time now (and have since Garth Brooks did Billy Joel in the 90s). Long story short, the line is fuzzier than ever, so it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if folks like Brooks and Shelton are someday enshrined in Cleveland.
I’m torn about the Rock Hall. There are bands that I think should be there that never will be, and there are bands that I think shouldn’t be that are. But I still love to watch the speeches and performances when a band I like is honored. Recently Judas Priest fit that bill.
In terms of rock history, of course Iron Maiden should be there, but so should Motorhead, and Motorhead never will be. Neither will Hawkwind. Hell, they only got around to bringing in Deep Purple in recent years.
So I guess I only care about it enough to look for youtube videos of bands I like being inducted.