Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rankings!

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee rankings. 

Today I'll be ranking the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees from most to less important.

For this, I'll rank inductees who got voted in through twelve group tiers. 

Rules + Criteria: 

1. Sesmic effect on music & culture 

2. Artistic & Creative Merits 

3. Actual quality of an artist's work

4. Historical Significance 

Beginning with a creme of the crop. 

The Pioneers

1. Chuck Berry 

2. Little Richard 

3. Elvis Presley 

The development of rock & roll started with these creators who brought it to life in terms of spirit, attitude, diversity & evolution. Without them, it won't exist. Period. 

The Trailblazers

4. The Beatles 

5. Bob Dylan 

6. James Brown & The Famous Flames 

All three immortals changed the course of music & culture as a whole let alone shattered the entire world in many ways. What will happen when they're removed from history completely, it would make a lot of difference.

The Stalwarts 

7. The Rolling Stones 

8. Aretha Franklin 

9. Ray Charles 

10. Jimi Hendrix Experience 

11. Muddy Waters 

12. Stevie Wonder 

13. The Beach Boys 

14. The Velvet Underground 

15. Led Zeppelin 

16. Buddy Holly & The Crickets 

17. Bob Marley 

18. Sam Cooke 

19. Prince 

20. Michael Jackson 

21. Madonna 

22. Bruce Springsteen 

23. Marvin Gaye 

24. Fats Domino 

25. The Who 

26. Johnny Cash 

27. Miles Davis 

28. David Bowie 

29. Ramones 

30. Joni Mitchell 

31. Neil Young 

32. Pink Floyd 

33. U2 

34. John Lennon 

35. Nirvana 

36. The Supremes 

37. Bo Diddley 

38. Otis Redding 

39. The Byrds 

40. The Kinks 

Every group of artists today have cited these icons as inspiration for making their careers a reality while their work still speaks volumes to multiple generations. 

No Brainers 

41. R.E.M 

42. The Clash 

43. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 

44. Sly & The Family Stone 

45. The Everly Brothers 

46. The Stooges 

47. Run - DMC 

48. Public Enemy 

49. The Doors 

50. Black Sabbath 

51. Elton John 

52. Queen 

53. The Band 

54. Parliament - Funkadelic 

55. The Temptations 

56. Ike & Tina Turner 

57. Jerry Lee Lewis 

58. Radiohead 

59. Jay - Z

60. Talking Heads 

61. Roy Orbison 

62. Janis Joplin 

63. Cream 

64. The Grateful Dead 

65. Frank Zappa 

66. Curtis Mayfield 

67. Etta James 

68. Jackie Wilson 

69. Al Green 

70. Simon & Garfunkel 

71. Van Morrison 

72. Sex Pistols 

73. Metallica 

74. The Allman Brothers Band 

75. B.B. King 

76. Beastie Boys 

77. Eminem 

78. Janet Jackson 

79. The Police 

80. Fleetwood Mac 

81. Tina Turner 

82. Tupac Shakur 

83. The Drifters 

84. The Four Tops 

85. Eagles 

86. The Yardbirds 

87. Eric Clapton 

88. The Shirelles 

89. Carl Perkins 

90. Paul McCartney 

91. Patti Smith 

92. The Isley Brothers 

93. Ruth Brown 

94. Nina Simone 

95. Van Halen 

96. Aerosmith 

97. AC/DC 

98. Creedence Clearwater Revival 

99. The Bee Gees 

100. Elvis Costello & The Attractions 

Honorable Mentions: Kraftwerk & Sister Rosetta Tharpe 

Their overall work stands a test of time, still being ranked as all time greats for their contributions & artists today continue to cite them as influence for their own careers. 

Best of the Rest 

101. Joy Division/New Order 

102. Bill Haley & The Comets 

103. Pearl Jam 

104. Nine Inch Nails 

105. The Cure 

106. Guns N' Roses 

107. Lou Reed 

108. Tom Waits 

109. Kate Bush 

110. Jefferson Airplane 

111. Steely Dan 

112. Booker T. & The M.G's 

113. OutKast 

114. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five 

115. The Notorious B.I.G 

116. The Jackson 5

117. Donna Summer 

118. Roxy Music 

119. Blondie 

120. Leonard Cohen 

121. Paul Simon 

122. Whitney Houston 

123. Lynyrd Skynyrd 

124. Willie Nelson 

125. Dolly Parton 

126. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 

127. N.W.A 

128. Missy Elliott 

129. Albert King 

130. The White Stripes 

131. Green Day 

132. Big Joe Turner 

133. Ricky Nelson 

134. Wilson Pickett 

135. Santana 

136. Depeche Mode 

137. Billy Joel 

138. A Tribe Called Quest 

139. Wu-Tang Clan 

140. Earth, Wind & Fire 

141. Sam & Dave 

142. John Lee Hooker 

143. Eddie Cochran 

144. Mary J. Blige 

145. Rod Stewart 

146. Dusty Springfield 

147. The Platters 

148. Red Hot Chili Peppers 

149. ABBA 

Honorable Mentions: Gram Parsons, LL Cool J, Link Wray, Freddie King, Wanda Jackson 

No denying everyone left an impressive mark on rock & roll. They never entirely shattered anything on earth though mostly changed the game for sure. 

Solid Choices 

150. Martha & The Vandellas 

151. George Harrison 

152. James Taylor 

153. The Animals 

154. The Pretenders 

155. Buddy Guy 

156. Jimmy Reed 

157. Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps 

158. Crosby, Stills & Nash 

159. Peter Gabriel 

160. The Impressions 

161. SRV & Double Trouble 

162. The Staple Singers 

163. The Ronettes 

164. Deep Purple 

165. T. Rex 

166. Bobby "Blue" Bland 

167. Randy Newman 

168. The Coasters 

169. Joan Baez 

170. Isaac Hayes 

171. ZZ Top 

172. Bob Seger 

173. Oasis 

174. Genesis 

175. Rush 

176. Eurythmics 

177. Dion 

178. Carole King 

179. The O'Jays 

180. Gladys Knight & The Pips 

181. Alice Cooper 

182. Iron Maiden 

183. Linda Ronstadt 

184. Little Willie John 

185. Duran Duran 

Honorable Mentions: Judas Priest, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, MC5 & Warren Zevon 

They deserve their place due to their credentials yet they're often overlooked when it comes to recognizing true impact on rock & roll as a whole. 

Sure Picks 

186. Luther Vandross 

187. Hall & Oates 

188. The Go - Go's 

189. The Cars 

190. Soundgarden 

191. Rage Against the Machine 

192. Foo Fighters 

193. Heart 

194. Cheap Trick 

195. Jackson Browne 

196. John Mellencamp 

197. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters 

198. Solomon Burke 

199. Neil Diamond 

200. Todd Rundgren 

201. Bonnie Raitt 

202. George Michael 

203. Cyndi Lauper 

204. Duane Eddy 

205. The Four Seasons 

206. Kool & The Gang 

207. The Spinners 

208. Bobby Womack 

209. Ozzy Osbourne 

210. Kiss 

211. Yes 

212. Small Faces/Faces 

213. Bill Withers 

214. Jimmy Cliff 

215. Donovan 

216. Jeff Beck 

217. Brenda Lee 

218. Little Anthony & The Imperials 

219. Buffalo Springfield 

220. Traffic 

Never fully changed the course of music though their decent resumes was enough to earn them HOF status. 

Above Average 

221. Righteous Brothers 

222. Clyde McPhatter 

223. Chubby Checker 

224. The Moody Blues 

225. Def Leppard 

226. Phil Collins 

227. The Flamingos 

228. Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) 

229. The Dave Clark Five 

230. The Zombies 

231. The Mamas & The Papas 

232. Chicago 

233. The Ventures 

234. Sade 

235. The Doobie Brothers 

236. Dire Straits 

237. Ritchie Valens 

238. Billy Idol 

Honorable Mention: Dionne Warwick 

These selections are ok not a big deal though, they have HOF material yet what they did during their careers wasn't that remarkable in terms of artistry & creativity alone. 

Borderline 

239. Cher 

240. Lavern Baker 

241. Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers 

242. The Moonglows 

243. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 

244. Pat Benatar 

245. The Dells 

246. Dave Matthews Band 

247. ELO 

248. Peter Frampton 

249. Joe Cocker 

250. Lionel Richie 

251. Lloyd Price 

252. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band 

253. Dr. John 

254. The (Young) Rascals 

255. Del Shannon 

256. Carly Simon 

257. Bad Company 

258. Bobby Darin 

259. Gene Pitney 

260. Sheryl Crow 

None of them did anything groundbreaking & revolutionary. Most have songs that get played on top 40 radio on the regular basis yet that's all they're known for. 

Marginal 

261. Lovin' Spoonful 

262. Steve Miller 

263. Bon Jovi 

264. Journey 

265. Foreigner 

All of them were there for fans who brought their records & attend shows nothing more. That's not what gets you a place in music history. 

WTF 

266. Laura Nyro 

267. The Hollies 

268. Stevie Nicks 

Nothing significant & special about what they do in their existence. Any biggest snubs would take their place given when they had an opportunity to do so though that never happened unfortunately. 

Forgotten 

269. Darlene Love 

270. Percy Sledge 

There's literally nobody today that talks about these performers based on what happened during the eras of rock & roll. You don't hear any influence on artists out there & their work isn't brought up by historians. 

Alright these are my rankings!