This week, my pal, OutKick writer extraordinaire Austin Perry, and I put together an article and video about our top 10 biggest Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame snubs after the latest batch of inductees were announced.
The response was overwhelming, with many heralding it as an instant classic, even if we erroneously said Jimmy Buffett wasn’t in the Rock Hall when he was inducted posthumously in 2024.
Which, in fairness to us, is still waaaaay too late.
But we opened the floor to the readers and got a ton of emails with bands and artists you think are the biggest snubs.
So, let’s take a look at some of them, shall we?
Todd hit us with a great suggestion that is a major omission from the prog-rock realm:
Your lists are very good. I would add King Crimson because they are the godfathers of prog. They influenced Tool, Rush, and Genesis. “In the Court of King Crimson” is a must–have album. Guided By Voices should be in, too. They put out three of the great indie albums in a row: “Bee Thousand”, “Alien Lanes”, and “Under The Bushes, Under The Stars”. The brains behind the band, Robert Pollard, has written over 4,000 songs. He’s the most underappreciated American artist of the past 50 years.
One reader sent me a message that just said, “Styz” in the subject and then “And it’s not close,” in the body.
I assume he meant Styx, but for all I know, there could be a band called Styz that kicks a ton of ass. That would be a good name for a Styx cover band, though.
Anyway, if it was Styx he was talking about, then I couldn’t agree more. Major omission.
“Mr. Roboto” is unironically one of my favorite songs ever, and then of course I love all the “good” songs like “Renegade,” “Blue-Collar Man,” and “Too Much Time On My Hands” as well.
Matt (what a name) wrote in with a band that I’m actually disappointed Austin and I didn’t think of:
I wouldn’t necessarily take away any of your top 5, but Boston should be in, heck, based on his music inventions/contributions like the Rockman, Tom Scholz should make it on his own. Depends on whose stats you trust, but most say Boston has sold over 50 million total albums, with their debut release setting the record for highest sales until it was broken 15 years later. Sure, they may be overproduced musicall, but More Than a Feeling – damn, that song alone should be in the hall of fame. Cranking that song up while driving is a feeling all in itself.
Another reader sent in the late Neil Sedaka, and that is a guy who I just assumed was in, but he’s not.
And that is criminal.
A long career, an incredible body of work, and what is without question one of the greatest performances of all-time:
The hair, the moves, the mom jeans. It’s magic.
Plus, the song is great!
True story: the great Colin Quinn used to essentially Rickroll people with that video on Twitter, which I thought was the funniest thing ever.
I showed that “Bad Blood” performance to my wife, and she loved it so much that we put the song on the dinner playlist at our wedding.
Something I noticed while cobbling together my list was that nu metal bands are now eligible to make the Hall of Fame, and at some point, one will, but who will be first?
My first thought was Slipknot or Korn, but I think one reader nailed it with Linkin Park:
My biggest snub is Linkin Park. How the hell are they not in?!? They check so many boxes. Sold lots of albums, tons of radio hits, critically successful, and unfortunately, a personal tragedy with Chester’s passing. They were the voices of 2000s rock radio, and the ones who really put nu-metal into the mainstream.
I think they’ll get in eventually, but it’s hard to see other late 90s/2000s groups like The White Stripes and Foo Fighters get in (deservedly so), but not Linkin Park.
There was a band that got mentioned more than any other, and that was the Guess Who.
Delco Scott writes:
Loved your article on bands not in the Hall of Fame. I agree with every one of yours. Here are my top 5.
Totally criminal that they’re not in!
Mike writes:
From a boomer who, after about a half-century of waiting patiently, has
finally decided “The HELL with them…
Sickening snub #1 – The Grass Roots.
Sickening snub #2 – The Guess Who.
Just plain disgusting.
KPW writes:
More overlooked artists who deserve to be in the Hall (in no particular order):
Charlie Daniels
The Guess Who
Little River Band
Marshall Tucker Band
Yes
Mat writes:
…Also, the Guess Who (honestly most important band to Canada still not in).
…
So, it looks like the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has a lot of work to do over the next couple of years to give all of these acts their due.
