Here Are 10 Of The Most Egregious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Snubs Still Waiting On A Call From Cleveland

A new batch of Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Inductees has been announced, and there are some big names finally getting their day in Cleveland.

Phil Collins, Billy Idol, and — most importantly, in the eyes of people with good musical taste — Iron Maiden will all be part of this year's crop of acts being enshrined in the Hall of Fame later this year.

However, there are plenty of musicians that are still getting shut out.

So, I called up my pal and fellow rock/metalhead, OutKick's Austin Perry, and we came up with our top five bands and artists who are still getting the cold shoulder from the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

Austin's No. 5: Jimmy Buffett

You can call this a homer pick if you want to, since I was born and raised in South Florida, and he was the soundtrack to my childhood, but Jimmy Buffett not being in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is laughable. 

The man has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and basically invented an entire genre of music called Gulf 'n Western, which is basically country and yacht rock mixed in a blender. 

For crying out loud, they renamed A1A down here in South Florida to "Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway!" What more do you people need?

There can only be one reason why Ted Nugent is not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame yet... (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)

Matt's No. 5: Ted Nugent

We all know why Ted Nugent isn’t in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and it rhymes with shmis smolitics.

Which is insane, because there are plenty of other artists with controversial political views (I’d argue Uncle Ted’s views in many respects aren’t that controversial) who were welcomed with open arms.

There’s no other explanation. He sold a ton of records and was highly influential.

I mean, it drives me nuts when people who don’t like the Motor City Madman for his politics try to say his music stinks. That just makes them sound like idiots.

Go throw on "Stranglehold," "Cat Scratch Fever," "Wango Tango," or, my personal favorite, "Great White Buffalo," and then explain to me why Ted Nugent isn’t a Rock And Roll Hall of Famer.

Austin's No. 4: Pantera

Let's move from South Florida to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area where I spent a good six years of my life…

Pantera deserves to be in the Rock Hall. 

These Texas legends codified the genre of groove metal, and their southern sensibilities mixed with their love for heavy music made them one of the most unique bands of the '90s. 

Guitarist Dimebag Darrell is, pound-for-pound, one of the greatest to ever plug into a Marshall stack, with hits such as "Walk" and "Cowboys From Hell." 

It's a crying shame Pantera couldn't make it into the Hall of Fame before the untimely demise of Darrell and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul.

Matt's No. 4: Smashing Pumpkins

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s rule is that you're eligible 25 years after your debut record, which means all ‘90s bands are fair game, and for me, there may be none better than the Smashing Pumpkins.

Siamese Dream has great song after great song, and also features one of my top 5 favorite guitar tones (future list?). That buzzsaw fuzz tone you hear on tunes like "Cherub Rock" and "Today" is just so, so good.

Of course, the driving force behind the band is frontman Billy Corgan, but don’t discount some of the best rock drumming ever from the great Jimmy Chamberlain. 

While the Pumpkins are a "'90s band," they don’t sleep on their output in the 21st century. There’s a lot of it, and it's all good.

In fact, despite being a douche who listens to music on Spotify or vinyl, the Pumpkins’ 2007 comeback record Zeitgeist is one of like three CDs I keep in my office.

If the Red Hot Chili Peppers are in, the Pumpkins not being in is a disgrace.

The Hall of Fame doesn't seem to be big on glam metal bands, but Mötley Crüe is too big to overlook. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)

Austin's No. 3: Mötley Crüe

When you think of bands that defined an era, you'd be hard-pressed to find a group more influential to the 1980s Sunset Strip hair metal movement than Mötley Crüe. 

Once described as a motorcycle gang who played instruments, Mötley Crüe took the theatrics and pop sounds of Kiss and Van Halen and turned them both up to 11. 

Every late ‘80s hair metal band you can think of owes its existence to the Crüe, but the Los Angeles quartet was more than just influential. Songs like "Live Wire," "Home Sweet Home," "Dr. Feelgood," and "Kickstart My Heart" are instantly recognizable and have an attitude about them that is uniquely ’80s in nature. These guys deserve their place in Cleveland.

Matt's No. 3: Mötorhead

How can you claim to be the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and not include the guy who was literally the walking embodiment of rock and roll, the late Lemmy Kilmister?

"Ace of Spades" alone should have been a ticket to Cleveland, but go dig into the Motörhead oeuvre if you haven’t, because there are some gems.

"Killed By Death," "Metropolis," "Overkill," "Damage Case," hell, they did like three songs for Triple H!

Sometimes, when acts that aren’t rock artists get inducted, people go, "Who cares? Why are you yelling about this here at Trader Joe’s?" But Motörhead is a prime example of why it's a problem.

Only so many people can get inducted each year, which means if you give a spot to Missy Elliott, it takes away a chance for an older act who influenced bands already in the Hall of Fame — *cough*Metallica and every band after them*cough* — from getting in.

And, unfortunately, if you wait long enough, they die before getting a chance to get inducted, which is what happened to several members of Motörhead, most notably Lemmy.

Scorpions are 60 years into their career and have influenced quite literally everyone, but they're still not Hall of Fame-worthy? Yeah, okay… (Photo by Javier Bragado/Redferns)

Austin's No. 2: Scorpions

They were at the top of their game for nearly a decade and a half, sold tens of millions of albums, and have some of the most-played rock hits of the '80s.

Seriously, when was the last time you were at a sporting event and didn't hear "Rock You Like A Hurricane?" 

Their influences span more than just arena rock, though, as they navigated genres like blues, hard rock, and even neoclassical shred at a time when that wasn't even a known term in the musical lexicon. 

I can't imagine why these bratwurst-loving bastards wouldn't be in the Hall other than the selection committee has some kind of bias against Germans, but either way, this is an oversight that must be rectified at once.

Matt's No. 2: Ronnie James Dio

Here's another act who passed away before getting his due… which he’s still waiting for.

I think you could induct Dio as a member of Rainbow or for his work with his own band, Dio.

"Holy Diver" alone should’ve made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer in my book, but then you throw "Rainbow in the Dark" and "The Last In Line" in there too, and, well, what the f–k are we doing, Rock Hall?!

But it gets worse, because Dio should’ve already been in as a member of Black Sabbath.

The only members inducted were the original four — Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward — which I get… to a degree.

Sabbath had a lot of members over the years, and you can’t put everyone in there. I mean, the Tony Martin years are cool, and I like the album Born Again with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, but that doesn’t need to go into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

But the guy who replaced Ozzy and whose massive pipes gave us Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules? 

Uh, he should be in there!

For Millennials, there may be no bigger snub than Blink-182. (Photo by Estevan Oriol/Getty Images)

Austin's No. 1: Blink-182

I often hear people say that Nirvana, and Kurt Cobain in particular, are the voices of Generation X. 

Well, if that's the case — and you all know how I feel about Cobain — then Blink-182 represents the voice of millennials. 

And behind all the fart jokes and boner innuendos, there is plenty of emotional weight to a lot of Blink's songs, particularly off their self-titled 2003 release. Next time you are at a party full of people under the age of 40, put on "All The Small Things" and you'll see there won't be a single mouth shut. 

Their songs are iconic, representing the carefree nature of the '90s and early 2000s, and the songwriting duo of Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge is one that has an uncanny ability to produce endless hooks and catchy melodies. If Green Day can make the Hall, there is no reason why these pop-punk pioneers are still on the outside looking in.

Thin Lizzy is such a big snub, there's a good chance you didn't even realize they were a snub. (Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns)

Matt's No. 1: Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy is, for my money, the most mind-boggling blind spot the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame has to offer, which is saying something.

In fact, I almost fell out of my chair when I realized they weren’t in.

How? I mean, just this year, if you go to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame page about Iron Maiden’s induction, it mentions Thin Lizzy as one of their influences, along with Black Sabbath and Genesis.

Sabbath and Genesis are in. 

Thin Lizzy? Nope!

They’re another band with a long list of members, but at least induct the classic lineup of Phil Lynott, Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, and Brian Robertson — and include Gary Moore, whose absence from the Hall in any capacity is downright wrong.

…

There's our list, but who are your biggest remaining Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame snubs still waiting for a call from Cleveland? Let me know!: matthew.reigle@outkick.com