I would like to add Pet Shop Boys to 80s list that would also get votes.
The likes of Boston and Styx may be nominated in the recent 5 years and get votes to be immediately in first try, but if they fail to appear on the ballot in the next 5 years or so, they will be forgotten, no one will care about them in new committee...
For 70s rnb acts, I would like to say if Chic, Chaka Khan and Dionne Warwick were nominated in 2026 ballot, they would be shoe-in. So I think other 70s rnb famous names like WAR (who were nominated before), Teddy Pendergrass (first black act has five consecutive platinum selling album I think) if they are nominated on the ballot, they will be voted in as well...
The best hope for pre-1980s names lies not among classic rock but instead among 1970s R&B. Flack, LaBelle, Ross, Hathaway, White + potentially rectifying Rufus and Chic. We've seen acts like Kool & The Gang or The Spinners get inducted very recently via the ballot so these could very well end up there soon and that, logically, seems the best place to look for pre-1980s names.
My list and that of Nick Bambach and anybody else will likely soon be shedding virtually all of the pre-1980s names. This last Rock Hall ballot effectively had nobody who was predominantly from the 50s/60s/70s and we all only expect that to worsen. Should it happen for, say, two more ballots, then I would likely just move all of that stuff to a "frozen in time" ranked-list for the off-chance that one of those names randomly shows up down the road.
There's not even that many predominant 1980s acts remaining that have that special sauce of being on the Rock Hall's radar and being able to obtain the votes - ironically, most of them are the major indie acts that are still on the board like Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Replacements and Pixies who now are some of the most "electable" rock bands waiting in the wings. Remove these from the equation (and their ilk like The B-52s, Devo, Siouxsie, etc.) and this is all you have that I could see getting on the ballot AND getting the votes:
The Bangles
Bryan Adams
Gloria Estefan
INXS
Mötley Crüe
Rick James
Sting
Tears for Fears
and three-leaners via Diana Ross (predominantly 70s), Motorhead (also key stuff in 1970s) and De La Soul (predominantly 90s).
In other words, aside from the newfound Electoral strength of indie (and rightfully so), the 1980s is basically done and dusted as well. The electable, non-indie rock adjacent names could very well be dealt with in a couple more ballots and, likewise, the lower-tier names that clog our futures lists (solo Sting, Don Henley, George Thorogood, Culture Club) would basically also be eliminated from contention in a few years once it's clear that the only non-indie rock names getting in will be from the 1990s and beyond.
Pavement jumps to #49 for "Inductability" on my list. That's from moving them up from 3-stars in Influence to 4-stars. Their influence is constantly felt throughout the world of indie rock and they have certain recent interest surges (the Alex Ross Perry documentary/fiction hybrid film, their massive streaming numbers and their well-regarded, highly-attended current live shows). Pavement was mentioned by at least one of the Vulture Rock Hall voters in their "Who Should Be Inducted?" article recently as well. There's certainly a hunger for them and any hipster-leaning Nom Com members could certainly make a ballot appearance happen.
Added Cocteau Twins who will surely be inducted in the near future in Rock Hall Projected. Their brand of dream-pop/shoegaze really laid a bedrock for so many key indie acts to come, such as Beach House and they've now obtained a streaming presence ten-times what it was years prior thanks to TikTok and their music being a fit for Gen Z. I'm giving them a high influence score of 4 out of 5 but a low probability of nomination/induction via a 1 out of 5 so that places them just outside my Top 100.
The recent George Thorogood talk and the nominating committee's obsession with rock revivalism made me had to add him to the very bottom of my list. I could see him making the ballot and the voters, rightfully, taking him even less seriously than Melissa Etheridge and The Black Crowes (as his case is even weaker).
omar wrote: