We have all understood that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone magazine shared a close connection during Jann Wenner's tenure. Since John Sykes took over, the Hall of Fame has drifted away from reflecting the tastes of the Rolling Stone's writers (and readers) towards a more corporate radio stance.

Rolling Stone's has published three primary lists that are a decent attempt at establishing a rock & roll canon:

• The 100 Greatest Artist of All-Time (previously The Immortals)
• The Top 500 Albums of All-Time
• The Top 500 Songs of All-Time

The reason those lists are so significant and should be taken seriously by the Hall of Fame is not that they came from Rolling Stone, but because of the methodology in which they were constructed. Here is their explanation for the 2020 Albums list:

To do so, we received and tabulated Top 50 Albums lists from more than 300 artists, producers, critics, and music-industry figures (from radio programmers to label heads). The electorate includes Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish; rising artists like H.E.R., Tierra Whack, and Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail; as well as veteran musicians, such as Adam Clayton and the Edge of U2, Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, Gene Simmons, and Stevie Nicks.

So these lists were not just the opinions of a handful of Rolling Stone writers and editors, but a compilation of 300 voices, many of whom are likely Rock Hall voters. Of course these lists aren't perfect, but no one else has done anything quite like it.

In 2023, Rolling Stone decided to throw that credibility in the trash and reworked the 2020 list without outside input:

In the three years since Rolling Stone rolled out the all-new, fully revamped version of our 500 Greatest Albums list, artists like Beyonce, Bad Bunny, and Taylor Swift have all released undeniable classics. So we’ve updated the list, adding those albums while making a few other tweaks.

By updating the list at the whims of their editors to include current albums (thereby kicking off actual classics that had earned their way onto the list), they undercut the importance of their lists. (It's that reason we don't include their updates on our site.)

Anyone can create a "greatest" list, but the methodology of the voting matters! That's why the honor of being inducted into the Rock Hall as a Performer inherently means more than being brought in one of the side door categories. As a Performer you were inducted by your peers! To get in one of the other categories it just takes a majority vote of something like seven people, likely to "balance" out the ceremony. It's ridiculous to argue that both honors carry equal significance.

Back to the Rolling Stone lists, there are two new Patreon-exclusive pages with the entirety of the "good" lists and their Rock Hall status.

• Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All-Time (2020 version)
• Rolling Stone's Top 500 Songs of All-Time (2021 version)

Also check out the non-Patreon exclusive compilations of the Albums and Songs lists.

When developing the ballot this year, the Nominating Committee could do much worse than just taking the top eligible artists from the Rolling Stone albums list and calling it a day.

1. D'Angelo
2. Fiona Apple
3. Joy Division/New Order
4. Pavement
5. Big Star
6. Erykah Badu
7. John Coltrane
8. De La Soul
9. Oasis
10. Sade
11. PJ Harvey
12. Bjork
13. Lucinda Williams
14. Sonic Youth
15. Daft Punk
16. Pixies

In any case, we're looking forward to the 2026 ballot.