When Listens The Heart: The 2025 Nominees

 Slight apology for the appropriation of that Hallmark series' title for this, but in a vacuum, it's a charming little title.  I think it suits a lot of us about how music reaches out to us, sneaks past our defenses, and gets in us, infecting us with emotions or articulations about emotions.  Like memes, we can just link to a song on a streaming service and add the comment, "Mood", and that's all that needs to be said.  So, after looking at (allegedly) objective analyses, we come to the point where we also have to admit that none of that matters if we don't like the music.  Unless an artist is the objectively most deserving act on the ballot by a country mile, the degree to which we find an artist's discography pleasurable is going to factor in, and in some cases, factor in heavily.  So this time around, I'm going to rank the artists by how much I simply enjoy their music.  I'll give my favorite song by them, review their Merits rank, and average them out.  Theoretically, the seven acts with the highest averages of combined ranks should be the seven that I am voting for everyday in the fan vote.  Even as I type this paragraph, I don't know that that's the case.  I'm ranking them as I go, possibly cutting and pasting as my mind goes back and forth, and I don't know what the averages will be.  So, really, I'm a passenger on this ride even while I drive the bus.  And I never ever ever lose my way.  Oh I may be a minute late, or two or ten or fifty-eig-- sorry, couldn't resist.  On with the show.

1.  Chubby Checker

I don't think this should be a surprise to anyone who knows me.  This is an artist that I was collecting CD compilations and CD album reissues of even before ABKCO officially remastered and released his CDs domestically.  I was buying Chubby Checker and Cameo-Parkway CDs from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and who knows where else from before you could buy them domestically.  Gotta love eBay.  And I think what really separates his from the vast majority of other dance records of that time is that Chubby kept up the energy in his vocal delivery.  Even when it came to "Let's Do The Freddie," there seems to be a genuine enthusiasm to it that can't be shaken, compared to others.  And with my love of the rock and roll of the '60s, there's no way Chubby doesn't top this list.

Favorite song:  "Lovely, Lovely (Loverly, Loverly)"

Merits rank:  5

Average of ranks:  3

2.  Cyndi Lauper

This is why she really stands a chance of getting in.  Her music is so infectious, she's a diverse talent that has something for everyone, and when you think you only enjoy a couple songs, that rabbit hole lasts a few hours of listening pleasure.  It's a little known personal rule of mine, mainly because I seldom have to actually enforce it, that on this list, the official favorite song has to be one where the nominee is the primary artist of credit.  This matters because Jean-Michel Carre's song featuring Cyndi, "Swipe To The Right" is an absolute dance bop that should not be overlooked during your deep diving.  And even though it's not my favorite track, "Taffy Butt" is reason enough to rank her this high.

Favorite song:  "Maybe He'll Know"

Merits rank:  11

Average of ranks:  6.5

3. Mariah Carey

As much as I have always been oblivious to the current trends, even in the '90s, even I was enjoying some of Mariah's songs.  "Hero," "Anytime You Need A Friend," "Fantasy," and so on.  She's really an incredible talent that thankfully is having a second revision that is treating her favorably.  Her music's incredible.  

Favorite song:  "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

Merits rank: 1

Average of ranks:  2

4.  Phish

I don't know why I can enjoy their music much more than I can the Dave Matthews Band.  I think it once again goes to the voice of the singer.  Trey Anastasio's voice is much more palatable to my ears than Matthews'.  But overall, I think this band is a lot smoother and melodic than last year's jam band inductee.  I'm not saying I want to go to a Phish show, but if someone had an extra ticket and wanted to bring a friend along, I'd be inclined to go.  Then again, I hate the smell of marijuana, so maybe I wouldn't enjoy myself.  Or maybe I might.  I don't know.  And while Phish draws from a variety of influences, my favorite song from them is one where I hear the influence of Paul Simon, or maybe Simon And Garfunkel.  Paul Simon's songwriting style, at least, is present in my favorite track.  

Favorite song:  "Water In The Sky"

Merits rank:  13

Average of ranks:  8.5

5.  Outkast

I'm surprised I'm ranking them this low, to be honest.  I love "Bombs Over Baghdad," "I Like The Way You Move," and "Hey Ya", but the crossover songs were big for a reason.  The deeper album cuts weren't always my thing, though.  I did enjoy them somewhat, but they're very different than the songs that got released as singles for Top 40 stations to play.  The biggest detriment to my listening enjoyment though, and one where I've had to maybe put my thumb on the scale a little, is that I enjoy the songs where they are a featured artist quite a bit less than when they're the primary or sole artist.  Admittedly, "Ms. Jackson" is one I made fun of at first, making cat noises on "Ooh"s and "for real, for real"s.  And the fact they had animal puppets in that video to be part of the singing didn't help.  But the video for that song and the symbolism in the visuals made me realize that they were very creative and artistic.  

Favorite song:  "Skew It On The Bar-B"

Merits rank:  2

Average of ranks:  3.5

6.  The White Stripes

Another one I'm kind of surprised isn't higher, but maybe I just wasn't having the greatest of days when I was bingeing them.  Of the '90s rock bands that have the strong classic rock influences, though, this one also gets high marks.  Jack and Meg have a great merging of talents that can leave you scratching your head at times, but you're not unhappy with the results either.  

Favorite song:  "In The Cold, Cold Night"

Merits rank:  7

Average of ranks:  6.5

7.  Bad Company

Maybe it's the comfort factor, the familiarity, but this one is a little higher than I expected.  That said, I do love classic rock, even if thematically, Bad Company gets a little tiresome.  Sonically, I can keep listening to them.  The Brad Howe era, what you might call the ersatz Bad Company, deserves some love.  And as much as I want to dunk on them for an endless cycle of songs that are either about sex, drugs, rock and roll, or some combination of the three, there are exceptions.  One exception would be my favorite track which seems like a plea to get laid at first, but with the beauty of the arrangement and the soulful singing by Paul Rodgers, it's clear that this isn't just about wanting to get some, but the genuine need for intimacy, connection, partnership, pair-bonding, completion even.  That resonates with me.

Favorite song:  "Love Me Somebody"

Merits rank:  9

Average of ranks:  8

8.  Joe Cocker

This one surprised me at how high the rank is.  I have used some very unflattering language to describe my distaste for the hits that everyone knows.  In my defense, I didn't know he struggled with alcoholism when I said, "he doesn't sound soulful, he sounds like a broken down, dirty old man, and when I hear him singing 'You Are So Beautiful To Me,' it sounds like he's singing to a bottle of wine, and not a girl."  And I'm sorry, the image of Josh Saviano looking into the camera, waving, and running away is burned into my memory to where I prefer Ringo singing "With A Little Help From My Friends."  I don't care for either version of "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window," so we'll call that one a draw.  He does have the superior versions of "The Letter" and "Feelin' Alright", though.  And his lesser known, deeper cuts are what bring him up this high.  I really do feed off the energy of those songs, especially ones that give off Bob Seger vibes.

Favorite song:  "Cry Me A River"

Merits rank:  12

Average of ranks:  10

9.  Oasis

Once again, this is an issue of being a band that I can't binge on for too long.  They've got some really great songs, but the accent gets a little hard to endure after three or four hours.  They're a band I can listen to driving to and from SeaTac airport, but not one I'm going to want as the soundtrack if I'm driving all night to Reno.  They're a sprint, not a marathon listening event for me.  

Favorite song:  "Round Are Way"

Merits rank:  10

Average of ranks:  9.5

10.  Billy Idol

It's really hard for me to fair to Billy Idol and his music.  This is an artist that got ruined by my time in radio, when I did the weekend overnights on the lite rock station that specialized in "retro weekends."  The drunks and mentally disabled that used to call up and request "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding" have ruined those songs for me.  And while I can appreciate his punk rock cred, as I said in my merits listing, he also had a synth-pop side, which you can kind of hear on songs such as "Eyes Without A Face."  Those songs, I don't like.  He's not at the bottom, though, so some of the deeper cuts and later albums had some jams on them that caught me by surprise.  And again, we have the technicality, that since "Dancing With Myself" was just a rebranding of a Generation X song, I feel it'd be disingenuous to allow that song in the competition for the favorite.  Sidebar: there is a mashup of "Rebel Yell" with Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" that you should absolutely check out.

Favorite song:  "Can't Break Me Down"

Merits rank:  8

Average of ranks:  9

11.  Mana

Like A Tribe Called Quest on their first nomination, I had trouble recalling anything to mind that I listened to.  This time, however, it's just due to the fact that nothing can stick, primarily because I don't speak Spanish.  As I type this, I'm having to take myself back and evoke the vibe and feel of what I've been listening to.  I distinctly remember them not quite feeling like my other experiences with Latin pop, which usually either involved or were sonically adjacent to mariachi, telenovela theme songs (or love songs that sound like they could have been), or dance music.  With Mana, I definitely got vibes of reggae and beach vacation music, along with some of the more traditional rock vibes, but not as audacious sounding as American or European rock bands.  That's the best I can do to explain myself on this one.  Sorry.  I'm throwing on a favorite song after having binged on them again yesterday, at the time of writing.

Favorite song:  "Clavado En Un Bar"

Merits rank:  6

Average of ranks:  8.5

12.  Soundgarden

Third time's a charm, I guess.  If you've looked at my ranks of their music on previous personal tastes lists, you know that this is actually a relative climb up for them.  I'm not sure if their music is actually growing on me or if Spotify is just choosing songs more palatable for me to tolerate.  Either way, I'm warming up to them a bit.  But I still have no idea what the heck a spoonman is.

Favorite song:  "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey"

Merits rank:  4

Average of ranks:  8

13.  The Black Crowes

As much as I enjoy classic rock, I don't enjoy all the artists that are in regular rotation on classic rock.  So even when you describe a '90s act as rooted in classic rock traditions, it's not a solid guarantee that I'm on board.  In this instance, the three classic rock acts that I hear the most influence on the sound of the Black Crowes are the (Small) Faces, the Band, and the Rolling Stones.  I'm not that huge a fan of either era of the (Small) Faces; the Band are alright, but I can take or leave them a lot of the time; and I love the Stones, but they are tertiary in terms of influence that I hear.  The clincher as to why they rank lower on this list though, is Chris Robinson's singing voice.  It's just not for me.  It works well in the group, though.  It fits.

Favorite song:  "Jealous Again"

Merits rank:  14

Average of ranks:  13.5

14.  Joy Division / New Order

My apologies to those in the hobbyist community who love post-punk and indie or underground bands.  I'm trying to appreciate them, really I am.  New Order is definitely the easier incarnation for me to listen to, and if it was just New Order, they might be one notch higher.  Even then, that's as high as they'd get.

Favorite song:  "Round And Round"

Merits rank:  3

Average of ranks:  8.5

So if we give equal weight to the merits and personal preferences, as I am wont to do, then the composite ranking is such:

1. Mariah Carey

2. Chubby Checker

3. Outkast

4. Cyndi Lauper (tied)

4. the White Stripes (tied)

6. Bad Company (tied)

6. Soundgarden (tied)

8. Joy Division / New Order (tied)

8. Mana (tied)

8. Phish (tied)

11. Billy Idol 

12. Oasis

13. Joe Cocker

14. the Black Crowes

So, with that composite list, the logical conclusion is that when I vote on the fan ballot daily, I should be clicking on Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper, the White Stripes, Bad Company, and Soundgarden.  And believe it or not, that's exactly how I've been voting... since day two.  Day one, I had just begun doing catalog dives on the nominees, and wasn't quite fully committed to a seventh pick yet.  So, that first day, I did not vote for Soundgarden; instead, I decided to shake things up and cast a vote for Mana.  So there.  You know someone who voted for Mana... once.  Since then, Soundgarden was my seventh choice, and I've been running with it.  That'd be a pretty good class too, if that's how it worked out.  But how do I think it'll actually play out?  We'll have the seeds coming soon.

Stacking up: the 2025 nominees.

 As is the custom, it is now time to rank the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 2025 nominees by merits.  This is an attempt to be objective, take our heart off our sleeve and put it back in the ribcage, and use our thinking brain to gauge the nominees, and determine who's the most worthy.  How do we do that?  By having metrics by which we try to measure each of the nominees, applying the same standard all around.  What standards might those be?  Those who've been reading long enough know we're catching the on ramp to my I-5:  Innovation, Influence, Impact, Intangibles, and Issues.  The first four are the positive aspects to a nominee's candidacy, and the last one is the other side of the coin, the negative side that might detract, because we need to give as well-balanced an analysis as you can.

So we're about to rank the nominees by order of merit according to these metrics.  As a reminder, in case you're tempted to get your dander up, just because an artist lingers down near the bottom of this list, that doesn't mean they're not worthy.  You can't only compare them to the other nominees, but you have to remember that they stick out from among thousands upon thousands of musical acts that are never going to be on the ballot.  So if they're worthy of the Hall, why bother ranking them?  Two reasons: one, a voter can only vote for seven, so there theoretically should be reasons why or why not; two, making lists is fun.  So let's do this.

1. MARIAH CAREY

Innovation:  It's both musical and industry innovation and influence the way she helped infuse the world of hip-hop into the style of pop-R&B.

Influence:  In addition to setting a new pop-R&B template, she has been incredibly influential as a singer and interpreter of songs in her own right, inspiring a legion of female singers in her wake.

Impact:  The first, and possibly only to date, singer to land a number one Billboard Pop Chart hit in every year for an entire decade.  Second most #1 pop singles of the rock era, and far and away the most commercially successful singles artist on this ballot.  

Intangibles:  An underrated songwriter and creative controller in the direction of her music and affected change in the industry, as mentioned above.

Issues:  Allllllll I waaaannnn--Ow!  Ow!  Stop hitting m--Ow!  Seriously though, the kneejerk rage and hateful memes that one song has spawned on social media could fool a less knowledgeable person into thinking she's a one-trick pony, not to mention the hatred of that song itself because of its artery-clogging saturation in the public consciousness between Halloween and Martin Luther King Day (it takes time for it to abate completely).  Additionally, her music got very adult contemporary palatable really quickly, and if there's one format that is almost universally not considered rock and roll in the slightest... well, it's Contemporary Christian, but if there's a second one, it's Adult Contemporary.  Lastly, her personal life was at one point a veritable source of cheesy tabloid fodder that somehow has a way of damaging credibility for palpable reasons I can't fully articulate.

2. OUTKAST

Innovation:  They made hip-hop that sounded like neither East Coast nor West Coast.  There was an originality to what they did.  

Influence:  Massively influential, they influenced Janelle Monae, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and Lil' Wayne, just to name a few.

Impact:  They were extremely successful in terms of sales with hit singles and albums, and furthermore, college radio played them back in the day.  Also, they made hip-hop that was accessible to White people over thirty, completing the canvas of American cultural ubiquity.

Intangibles:  Their talents are unique, both individually and collectively, they were lauded by critics, and their image of an oil-and-vinegar type of combination all add to making an indelible impression.

Issues:  In a somewhat self-contradictory twist, there's some sense that they need to reunite and put out new stuff before folks should be willing to vote for them.  As much as everyone loved Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, they're equally unhappy that they didn't give the public another album like that, and Idlewild is an unsatisfying closing chapter.  Some may not want to enshrine them until they get another top flight album.

3. JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER

Innovation: Early post-punk band that helped define the style and on the ground floor for a lot of the synth-pop dance sounds of the '80s.

Influence: Both incarnations were influential in their respective styles that they helped pioneer, often namechecked as influences.

Impact: Two major albums from Joy Division, more from New Order, whereas New Order had more albums and a few charted singles on the pop charts, and much more a force to be reckoned with on the dance charts.

Intangibles: The ubiquity of the album cover for Unknown Pleasures gives them a cultural presence outside of the music itself.  

Issues: They've got a few. The infamy of Ian Curtis's death almost outstrips the legacy of Joy Division's music. The stylistic differences between Joy Division's catalog and New Order's are pretty significant, and New Order formed too quickly, relatively speaking, for that difference in styles to be a natural evolution of Joy Division's sound--when put together, it speaks to argue against the joint nomination. Additionally, the fact that both band names have had to be repeatedly defended against allegations of ties to white nationalism doesn't help all that much.

4. SOUNDGARDEN

Innovation: Despite spending more years paying their dues, they were one of the first on the scene to help define the sound of grunge.

Influence: While not as big as a few of the major grunge bands, they were an incredibly influential band, due in part to their being among the first grunge acts.

Impact: They had a serious string of hits on the Album/Mainstream Rock and Modern/Alternative Rock charts.

Intangibles: As another band with a mythos surrounding their lead singer, it helps elevate their legacy.

Issues: They're not Nirvana. Or Pearl Jam. They will always pale in comparison to those two, and maybe even next to Alice In Chains, and that will make them look less worthy, perhaps unfairly.

5. CHUBBY CHECKER

Innovation:  He might want to take credit for innovating "dancing apart from the beat," but sonically, I gotta call this one a goose egg.

Influence:  He was massively influential for a short period of time, that being in the wake of the twist as a dance craze.  So many records about the twist itself, in addition to the entire fad of different dance records that lasted until about the arrival of the Beatles.  Additionally, some of his early '60s dance records were remixed by EDM producers and deejays during the '00s, so a brief resurgence in his reach of influence.

Impact:  The name is universally known, and he had a strong string of hit singles through the early '60s, including two #1 hits, one of which was Billboard's biggest single of all-time (by their metrics) for nearly fifty years.  Additionally, the first rock and roller to play the Superbowl halftime show, which is now one of the biggest events in American music culture, and something of a dream gig to land.  Plus, he's the only African-American musician worthy of mention in Billy Joel's musical synopsis of the cultural zeitgeist of the Cold War, "We Didn't Start The Fire."

Intangibles:  Respected by a lot of the rock and roll community, including his contemporaries and the immediate generation following him, he is held in high esteem by most inside players, seemingly.  Even rockists who don't think rock and roll TRULY existed before the Beatles or Rolling Stones are willing to give a hat tip to Chubby Checker as an early, quasi-foundational figure.  And as John Sykes frames rock and roll music as a matter of youth culture, Chubby is a strong symbol for youth culture in the early 1960s, especially considering those twisting teenagers grew up to be the first wave of Rolling Stone readers as late teens and early twenty-somethings who wanted to fight the power and change the world, which is what Sykes typically means when he talks about youth culture.

Issues:  When I tried to tell a good friend of mine that Chubby was a lot more than "The Twist," he responded, "No, he's less than 'The Twist.'"  Considered a one-trick pony who beat that horse to death, his talent and skill are greatly downplayed by some.  It doesn't help much either that the in-house songwriters of the Cameo-Parkway empire were frequently derivative at best, plagiaristic at worst, and the results tend to get laid at the artists' feet.  Lastly, with his stunts in campaigning to get in the Hall, he comes off as a bit "thirsty" for it, which may turn some voters off.

6. MANA

Innovation:  Admittedly, I'm way outside my ken here, but I do hear some fusion of reggae and other Latin American rhythms and rhythmic structures that feels like it must have been novel at the time.

Influence:  Again, not something I'm having a ton of luck finding stuff on, but in a spaghetti-on-the-wall kind of way, one would have to imagine that they can't be that huge without having some modicum of influence in their wake.

Impact:  This band is huge in the parts of the Western Hemisphere south of the Rio Grande.  And even as far as U.S. penetration goes, on the U.S. Latin charts, their string of hits is bigger than on the Pop charts in Mexico or Spain, charting high over the course of nearly thirty years.  They even apparently made the Billboard Hot 100 twice.  And it's probably not an overstatement to say they're a sizeable part of some SoCal subculture and scene.

Intangibles:  They generate a little cred by having drawn influence themselves from reggae, which the Hall has recognized in a couple inductions.  Additionally, they are deeply immersed in charitable causes and humanitarian efforts, which is part of the rock and roll spirit and the emblem of youth culture that Sykes wants to bind rock and roll to: the youth movement that is enraged at injustice and takes down the establishment by using their powers of being young and being rockin'.  

Issues:  If you don't speak Spanish, their being announced as a nominee is very likely the first time you've heard of them.  Additionally, some are wondering why Mana instead of Los Lobos, Selena, or Gloria Estefan And The Miami Sound Machine.  Furthermore, much of their catalog has a more "cool" feel than "edgy" with the distortion pedals and vocals that push boundaries.  There's a very ambient, background feel for many of their songs.

7. THE WHITE STRIPES

Innovation: While rock and roll is itself most predominantly based in the blues, they upped the bluesy level into a distortion-driven alternative rock style.

Influence: Their credit as one of the last great rock bands is partially due to the number of alternative-rock bands that took cues from them.

Impact: Three Top Ten albums and eleven charted singles on the Alternative Rock Charts (in the States)

Intangibles: Jack's continued career as a producer and solo artist has only heightened the production values and musicianship of the duo's catalog.

Issues: Relatively limited catalog, due to breaking up near the height of their powers, so not a lot of longevity.

8. BILLY IDOL

Innovation:  A unique combination of punk-rock moorings and synth-pop that was contemporary at the time.

Influence:  His influence was stunted by the arrival of grunge, but as some, like Miley Cyrus, are discovering him, he's had some influence.

Impact:  A dozen or so pop hits, most of them making the Top 40, and a fair amount of album sales as well.

Intangibles:  The sneer, the image of a bad boy and tough guy.  The punk-rock cred from his time in Generation X.

Issues:  His image and sound are really only seeing a resurgence recently, and most would say they overall didn't survive, period.  The slower and more synth-laden songs have a production style that is timestamped and is hit or miss with how well it's aged.  Additionally, some would probably protest it should be Generation X instead of Billy Idol getting nominated.

9. BAD COMPANY

Innovation:  Like a lot of the arena rock bands, they started about at the same time and had a big part of defining what that sound and movement would be.

Influence:  This is hard to parse out because, again, those bands all came out about the same time, so maybe it's a matter of them being part of something that was synergistically influential, which in turn lets them claim credit as a band themselves.  But Paul Rodgers does stand out as an influential vocalist, so they have that in their arsenal.

Impact:  They perform remarkably well in this, with several hits still in classic rock rotation, and even continued to make the Album/Mainstream Rock charts until the end of the twentieth century.

Intangibles:  Paul Rodgers is the secret weapon, being one of the most highly regarded rock vocalists, especially of the 1970s.  

Issues:  "Sex, drugs, and rock and roll" may be the unofficial motto of rock and roll, but it's also the depth and breadth of Bad Company's catalog, in terms of subject matter.  And because they were one of several bands to emerge in that lane at that time, they are sometimes considered generic-sounding. Also, there's the whole "Should it be Bad Company, or should it be Free that is how we encase Paul Rodgers in amber?" discussion.

10. OASIS

Innovation:  They were one of the acts leading the charge for the Britpop movement.

Influence:  Leading the charge, they influenced a lot of British bands that came after them, and not just in Britpop, but rock bands in general that followed.

Impact:  A fair amount of commercial success here in the States, and immensely popular in the UK to the point of creating factions in the Britpop fandom circles.

Intangibles:  They have a bit of longevity, releasing albums over a course of fifteen years, and a bit of critical acclaim to go with it.

Issues:  The sibling drama.  You're either here for it or really not here for it, but either way, it distracts and maybe even detracts from the music.  I mean, how many members can you name that don't have the surname "Gallagher" without looking it up?  Also, while no one denies how important the Beatles were, some hold it against Oasis for sounding a little too derivative of the Beatles.

11. CYNDI LAUPER

Innovation:  Not a strong category for her.

Influence:  More so for her style than the music, perhaps, but her brand of pop has had ripples that still continue to reach.

Impact:  Several Top Ten hits, with some additional hits on top of that.  Plus, she's a name that keeps coming up, whether it's her songwriting or her part in Cosentyx commercials, she keeps resurfacing.

Intangibles:  Her songs have aged better than a lot of songs from the '80s, she is a heavily awarded artist, and some may have even forgotten that she duetted with none other than Frank Sinatra.  Even if it is a Christmas song, that's not a gig one could have landed without being incredibly talented.

Issues:  Those less prone to carefully compare and contrast might dismiss her as a K-Mart brand Madonna. Additionally, there's a difference between being a song interpreter and being a songbook interpreter, and some may feel she became the latter after having too short-lived a prime period.

12. JOE COCKER

Innovation:  As a vocal stylist, he's a unique blend of the blue-eyed soul reminiscent of the Righteous Brothers and working-class rock and roll such as Bob Seger.

Influence:  Maybe it's just me, but I can kind of hear his singing style as being influential to singers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Michael Bolton.

Impact:  He doesn't have a ton of hits, but they are spread and spackled out enough to where he has name recognition to multiple generations.

Intangibles:  His recordings, both live and studio, have a palpable concert energy that can really draw an audience in.  Plus, he has stylistic versatility to rock out as well as croon.  Lastly, his iconic status achieved by his presence at Woodstock solidifies him as a symbol of that point in history.

Issues:  He was kind of an inconsistent performer, in terms of output and also reliability in the studio, which resulted in an inability to steadily maintain momentum at any point of his career.  Some of that was his alcoholism, and some of that was his seemingly low social battery he had as a humble introvert.  Unfortunately, the result remains the same.

13. PHISH

Innovation:  I heard one musician comment about their sound being a blend of Grateful Dead-styled jamming and prog rock.  I can't argue against that, so... sure!

Influence:  I would say Phish, more than the Dave Matthews Band, really helped whet the appetite of Gen X (the demographic, not the band) for jam bands, which helped spawn a league of said outfits.

Impact:  In terms of hits, they had very few, virtually none. But they are a name that every college student has heard of, and their music, while not a staple, was semi-regularly rotated in college radio programming.

Intangibles:  This band garnered a lot of respect and credibility for the level of success and name recognition that they have achieved despite not being with a major label for a large part of their history.  Even when they were signed with Elektra, the business model still remained much the same, and that level of grassroots growth is both authentic to their brand and amazing that they were able to become successful enough that they are now nominees for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  Their musicianship and live shows are noteworthy, even getting a genuine shout-out from Drew Carey when he appeared on "After Midnight."  And I'll also give them props for their "Phish Food" ice cream with Ben & Jerry's.  On a personal note, and mostly non-sequitur, I'm mildly disgruntled that virtually every flavor that Ben & Jerry's churns out now almost HAS to have fudge flakes/chunks/swirls and/or bits of brownie, like they're just making new variants of "Half-Baked," which is their most popular flavor, but one of my absolute least favorites.  I think the only one I *HATE* more than Half-Baked is "New York Super Fudge Chunk."  Phish Food has the fish-shaped fudge chunks in it, and is a chocolatey ice cream to boot, but I actually like that one.  It might be in my top twenty all-time flavors of Ben & Jerry's.  So that's a plus for the band in this category, in my opinion.  But I really miss "Red Velvet Cake."

Issues:  Most people have heard of Phish because... they've heard of Phish.  Unless you're a really big fan of the band, you probably can't name a song, or certainly not more than three.  Their songs just don't have widespread recognition, and their concerts are lauded more for the experiences while in attendance--the people you meet and bond with, the strains of weed you partake, the overall vibe, and even the demonstrations of musical virtuosity when they "open a song up" and jam--than the actual songs themselves.  That's what has made them successful, but it doesn't help them play in Peoria.  If the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is about the music, Phish definitely suffers for not having their songs being widely recognizable.

14. THE BLACK CROWES

Innovation:  Very little, one might give them a little credit for modernizing the classic rock sound.

Influence:  Hard to find, but they may have been an influence on the likes of Kings Of Leon and the Black Keys.

Impact: The Black Crowes perform surprisingly well in this category.  Though they only had a half dozen songs on the Billboard Hot 100, they've had almost thirty hits on the Mainstream Rock Charts, including six #1s that spent a combined half year in the top spot on that chart.  

Intangibles:  Despite the drama between the brothers, the revolving door of membership, and the multiple breakups; when they get back together, stow the drama, and get back into the music and into the studio, it's like riding a bicycle almost.  They just seem to pick up where they left off and get right back to work.  There's something to be said for that level of journeyman consistency that has proved efficacious for them.

Issues:  Despite their string of hits on the Mainstream Rock charts, they're mostly remembered for one or two hits, one of them being an Otis Redding cover.  Additionally, "modernizing the classic rock sound" could be an epaulet worn by any number of non-grunge rock bands that came out of the '90s, including other Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees like Foo Fighters.  Lastly, their imperial phase occurred during the same time as another rock band with an ornithologically similar name.  With both being a kind of alternative rock at the same time, it's very easy for the general public to conflate the two.  It's not necessarily or entirely either band's fault if the general populace made no effort to differentiate the two, but being essentially in the same lane does hurt their abilities to establish separate identities.   I simply can't help but wonder how many people left a Black Crowes concert upset that they didn't play "Mr. Jones," or left a Counting Crows concert upset that "Hard To Handle" wasn't in the set.

And with that, I will once again remind you, dear readers, that finishing low on this list is not the same as calling them unworthy of induction.  Names on a ballot are not the same as proposals on a ballot, where you can vote to approve each one and possibly have fourteen inductees.  Voters are only allowed to vote for seven, and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame won't induct all fourteen this year.  So, decisions have to be made, and reasons why you vote for one and not another have to be determined.  And this list I've just given provides some of those reasons.  However, this is not a definitive list of reasons.  Tune in for the next chapter, where I'll be ranking reasons that come from the connection between the ears and the heart, instead of the ears and the head.  I'll be ranking the nominees based solely on my personal tastes.