The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced the nominees for their 2023 class. Usually I don’t get wrapped up in the Rock HoF because they refuse to put actual pioneers of the genre into the hall, but this year has some legit nominees. There are so many bands that haven’t even gotten a nomination yet that without a question deserve one.

In my opinion the best grunge band of all time Alice in Chains has been eligible for eight years and has yet to receive a nomination. Faith No More who were one of the biggest influencers of the Nu Metal movement, and alternative metal juggernauts in their own right, haven’t been nominated in thirteen opportunities. While he got in for Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne (or his band) hasn’t even been nominated. Pantera and Slayer (15 years) have also not been nominated. That’s just to name a few of my personal favorites and there are countless more snubs. Enough about who isn’t in though. This year we have a very good class of nominees, so without further ado here’s who got my five votes for the Hall this year.

The Nominees:

• Missy Elliott
• Cyndi Lauper
• Rage Against the Machine
• The Spinners
• George Michael
• Joy Division + New Order
• Warren Zevon
• The White Stripes
• Willie Nelson
• Sheryl Crow
• Iron Maiden
• Soundgarden
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Kate Bush

George Michael

We’ll start with the pick that I am least familiar with. While I don’t find myself listening to his music all that much there’s no denying his influence and popularity within the genre. Michael found success both with his band Wham! and as a solo artist. He also had a mega hit with “Faith” (I prefer the Limp Bizkit version, but that’s just me), and he’s been nominated for, and won so many awards he has his own Wikipedia page for them. Again it’s not really my style of music, but I can recognize a massive talent when I see one, and George Michael deserves to have his name with the greats.

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon is an artist that I’ll listen to from time to time and really enjoy, I’ve just never taken a deep dive on him. His hits are exactly that, hits. He’s a masterful songwriter as well. The way he can tell a story (“Werewolves of London”), or convey emotion (“Keep Me in Your Heart”) is incredible. I first truly discovered Zevon watching the show “Californication” and they did such a great job using his music in the show that I had to take a listen myself. He’s a guy who doesn’t get recognized for all he’s accomplished and it’s about time he get’s the respect he deserves.

Iron Maiden

These last three for me are no brainers. We’ll start with Iron Maiden. How they are not in at this point (and this is only their second nomination) is an abomination. We’re talking about a band here that are more or less the founding fathers of metal along with Black Sabbath. Their discography speaks for itself. They churned out hit after hit and are so popular they still tour to this day. They put out two very good albums with their original vocalist Paul Di’Anno before moving on to Bruce Dickinson where they exploded in popularity. From there they only went on to be one of the biggest metal bands of all time. There’s a ton of steps that need to be take to re-legitimize the Hall and Iron Maiden getting it would be a huge leap in the right direction.

Soundgarden

Another heavy hitter nominated for the second time is Soundgarden. I mean, they should be in just based off of having Chris Cornell as their lead singer. That dude is as rock & roll as they come and one of the most talented vocalists I’ve ever heard. I’ve always been a big fan of grunge and Soundgarden is essential to the genre. It’s a slap in the face that they (and Alice in Chains while we’re at it) have yet to be recognized for their greatness. Their catalog is so versatile too. They have a song for every mood. You want to be a sad boy? Listen to “Blow Up the Outside World.” You want to drink a sleeve of Fireball and blow half an Adderall up your nose? Throw on “Outshined.” No, I definitely wasn’t talking about someone specific there (or was I?). Point is this band embodies rock & roll like few do. They should be in.

Rage Against the Machine

Come the fuck on with this one. How are these guys not in yet? They have the perfect “spit in your face” sort of defiance that rock & roll was built on. A band literally about fighting the power, raging against the machine if you will. I said Soundgarden embodied rock & roll like few do, well Rage is part of that group as well. Not only that, but their library can stack up with anyone. Sure they only have three full length albums of their own, but they are all incredible. The self titled album has no skips. Cover to cover one of the best rock/metal albums you’ll find. Evil Empire and The Battle of Los Angeles can hold their own with most bands best work as well. It’s a travesty they continue to get nominated and not voted in. This should be the year.