The 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class just dropped, and I’m sitting here wondering if the voters are actually listening to the same radio station we are. Don’t get me wrong - seeing Billy Idol finally get the nod after 20 years is a massive win, and Phil Collins getting in as a solo artist is a long time coming for a guy who basically owned the 80s airwaves...but man, the “snub list” is getting longer than a jam-band encore.
Every year we do this dance, and every year I look at the list of legends still waiting outside the velvet ropes and just shake my head. If you’re going to call it the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, you might want to actually invite the people who built the house. Here are the five biggest snubs that still have me yelling at the folks in Cleveland.
Styx: How is the band behind “Renegade” and “Come Sail Away” not in yet? They defined the arena rock era. The bands massive hooks have lived in our brains for decades. It’s time to let them in!
Boston: Tom Scholz basically built a new sound in his basement and gave us one of the greatest debut albums of all time. You can’t tell the story of rock guitar in the 70s without mentioning Boston.
Jethro Tull: I’m not going to pretend to be some big Jethro Tull fan, but how do you have a Hall of Fame without the band that made the flute a frontline rock instrument? Ian Anderson is a mad scientist, and Aqualung is foundational for anyone who calls themselves a rock fan.
Kansas: Prog-rock isn’t always “cool” to the critics, but Kansas bridged the gap between complex arrangements and massive radio hits. “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry on Wayward Son” are permanent fixtures in the rock canon for a reason!
Mötley Crüe: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Crüe defined an entire decade of rock and roll decadence. You can’t ignore the impact of Shout at the Devil or Dr. Feelgood. Tommy Lee is an innovator on the kit, and Nikki Sixx showed bands the bass player can in fact be the band leader.
At the end of the day, we don’t need a trophy case in Cleveland to tell us what’s good. We’ve got the records, we’ve got the memories, and we’ve got the volume cranked up! But hey - it would be nice to see these legends get their flowers while they can still smell ‘em.
