Rolling Stone magazine unleashed their latest "greatest" list today, this one focusing on the best singers of all-time (not necessarily rock, by the way).The list was compiled after Rolling Stone polled a bunch of artists, journalists and music industry folks to name their top 20 singers.

A hefty 72 of the artists listed are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. That leaves just 28 artists who are not yet in. Quite a few of these are primarily known as country singers (George Jones, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Patsy Clline), and generally wouldn't be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyway, although there have been exceptions (like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash). There are seven artists who aren't eligible yet, but a few of them are likely future inductees, like Nirvana, Radiohead and Guns 'N Roses.

Of the notable snubs on the list, Nina Simone ranks the highest, but many rock fans will likely point to Steve Perry's inclusion on this list as another reason for Journey's induction.

The full list:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown
11. Paul McCartney
12. Little Richard
13. Roy Orbison
14. Al Green
15. Robert Plant
16. Mick Jagger
17. Tina Turner
18. Freddie Mercury
19. Bob Marley
20. Smokey Robinson
21. Johnny Cash
22. Etta James
23. David Bowie
24. Van Morrison
25. Michael Jackson
26. Jackie Wilson
27. Hank Williams
28. Janis Joplin
29. Nina Simone *
30. Prince
31. Howlin' Wolf
32. Bono
33. Steve Winwood
34. Whitney Houston *
35. Dusty Springfield
36. Bruce Springsteen
37. Neil Young
38. Elton John
39. Jeff Buckley
40. Curtis Mayfield
41. Chuck Berry
42. Joni Mitchell
43. George Jones *
44. Bobby "Blue" Bland
45. Kurt Cobain *
46. Patsy Cline *
47. Jim Morisson
48. Buddy Holly
49. Donny Hathaway *
50. Bonnie Raitt
51. Gladys Knight
52. Brian Wilson
53. Muddy Waters
54. Luther Vandross *
55. Paul Rodgers *
56. Mavis Staples
57. Eric Burdon **
58. Christina Aguilera *
59. Rod Stewart
60. Björk *
61. Roger Daltrey
62. Lou Reed
63. Dion
64. Axl Rose *
65. David Ruffin
66. Thom Yorke *
67. Jerry Lee Lewis
68. Wilson Pickett
69. Ronnie Spector
70. Greg Allman
71. Toots Hibbert *
72. John Fogerty
73. Dolly Parton *
74. James Taylor
75. Iggy Pop **
76. Steve Perry *
77. Merle Haggard *
78. Sly Stone
79. Mariah Carey *
80. Frankie Valli
81. John Lee Hooker
82. Tom Waits *
83. Patti Smith
84. Darlene Love *
85. Sam Moore
86. Art Garfunkel
87. Don Henley
88. Willie Nelson *
89. Solomon Burke
90. The Everly Brothers
91. Levon Helm
92. Morrissey *
93. Annie Lennox *
94. Karen Carpenter *
95. Patti LaBelle *
96. B.B. King
97. Joe Cocker *
98. Stevie Nicks
99. Steven Tyler
100. Mary J. Blige *

* = not yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
** = nominated in 2009

As a part of its 50th anniversary this year, Billboard put together a list of the Hot 100's top 100 artists of all-time (well, 1958 through today). As opposed to Rolling Stone's and VH1's lists of the all-time greats, which polled groups of artists, Billboard uses their singles charts to generate their list. The results certainly show the most popular artists from the last 50 years, but are not very indicative of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers (no Hendrix, Dylan, The Who, The Police, U2, etc.). Of the 100 artists listed below, 40 are Hall of Famers. Of the 60 who are not in, 46 are eligible and have never reached final ballot for induction.

Looking down the list at the artists who aren't eligible yet (indicated with an asterisk), there really aren't any slam dunks for induction, although a strong case could be made for a few of them. If ranking high on this list were important to the Rock Hall, then Janet Jackson (the highest ranking eligible artist) should have at least received some serious consideration by the Nominating Committee, but she has not. Clearly the Rock Hall is looking for other credentials in their Hall of Famers besides having a successful singles career.

As far as using this list as prediction tool, we wouldn't recommend it. It's unlikely that over the next 20 years that any more than a handful of the non-Hall of Famers listed below will be inducted.

The complete list follows, with links to the non-Hall of Famers:

1. The Beatles
2. Madonna
3. Elton John
4. Elvis Presley
5. Stevie Wonder
6. Mariah Carey *
7. Janet Jackson
8. Michael Jackson
9. Whitney Houston *
10. The Rolling Stones
11. Paul McCartney/Wings
12. Bee Gees
13. Chicago
14. The Supremes
15. Daryl Hall & John Oates
16. Prince
17. Rod Stewart
18. Olivia Newton-John
19. Aretha Franklin
20. Marvin Gaye
21. Usher *
22. Phil Collins
23. Billy Joel
24. Donna Summer
25. Diana Ross
26. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
27. The Temptations
28. The Beach Boys
29. Lionel Richie
30. Neil Diamond
31. Carpenters
32. Boyz II Men *
33. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
34. Connie Francis
35. Brenda Lee
36. Barbra Streisand
37. Kenny Rogers
38. Bryan Adams
39. Cher
40. George Michael *
41. Bobby Vinton
42. John Mellencamp
43. Three Dog Night
44. Huey Lewis & The News
45. Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine *
46. Bon Jovi
47. Ray Charles
48. Chubby Checker
49. Foreigner
50. Kool & The Gang
51. Ricky Nelson
52. Duran Duran
53. Commodores
54. Eagles
55. Paul Anka
56. TLC *
57. Barry Manilow
58. Dionne Warwick
59. Gladys Knight & The Pips
60. Heart
61. The Everly Brothers
62. R. Kelly *
63. Bobby Darin
64. James Brown
65. Paula Abdul *
66. Richard Marx *
67. Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship
68. Destiny's Child *
69. Linda Ronstadt
70. Celine Dion *
71. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
72. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
73. Fleetwood Mac
74. Bruce Springsteen
75. The Pointer Sisters
76. John Denver
77. Four Tops
78. Tony Orlando & Dawn
79. The 5th Dimension
80. Alicia Keys *
81. Captain & Tennille
82. Andy Gibb
83. Air Supply
84. Nelly *
85. Roy Orbison
86. The Spinners
87. Queen
88. 50 Cent *
89. Dion
90. Aerosmith
91. Billy Ocean
92. Tommy James
93. Earth, Wind & Fire
94. Brook Benton
95. Michael Bolton
96. Styx
97. Toni Braxton *
98. Neil Sedaka
99. Herman's Hermits
100. Simon & Garfunkel

* = not yet eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

So, for example, if you're arguing that Neil Diamond should be inducted based on the number of hits he has had, you need to be prepared to induct everyone with a higher position on this list. If you can't do that, then it's unwise to use Billboard chart success as a sole reason for induction.

Blender recently came up with a list of the 100 greatest American albums of all-time. Clearly there are a number of problems with the list (such as using greatest hits albums, the absence of Daydream Nation, listing Canadians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, nothing listed from this decade, etc.), but any ranking such as this will never please everyone.

As far as using the list as a predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are 45 artists who are Hall of Famers and 41 artists listed who are not. Of the non-Hall of Famers, only the Beastie Boys and Nirvana have two albums listed, and both are almost sure to be inducted in the future.

Other artists who are likely to be inducted after they become eligible are Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Public Enemy, Beck and Jane's Addiction. Some of the artists who might be on the bubble are Modern Lovers, the Minutemen, Hole, Mary J. Blige and Pavement.

Some of the most popular snubbed artists are represented by Randy Newman, Kiss, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson and The Replacements.

There are obviously a number of hip-hop albums listed, and most of those artists listed would seem to have a good chance at future induction.

The full list is below:

1. Madonna - The Immaculate Collection (Sire, 1990)
2. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (Def Jams, 1986)
3. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
4. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (Tamla Motown, 1973)
5. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (Geffen, 1987)
6. Ramones - Ramones (Sire, 1976)
7. Blondie - Parallel Lines (Chrysalis, 1978)
8. Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (Chess, 1982)
9. Nirvana - Nevermind (DGC, 1991)
10. Joni Mitchell - Blue (Reprise, 1971)
11. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jams, 1988)
12. Metallica - Metallica (Elektra, 1991)
13. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (Epic, 1979)
14. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966)
15. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Tamla, 1973)
16. Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Rhino, 1962)
17. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (Verve, 1967)
18. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain (Warner Bros., 1984)
19. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise, 1979)
20. James Brown - Sex Machine (King, 1970)
21. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (Columbia, 1966)
22. Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia, 1966)
23. R.E.M. - Murmur (IRS, 1983)
24. Parliament - Mothership Connection (Casablanca, 1975)
25. Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (Bad Boy/Arista, 1997)
26. Van Halen - Van Halen (Warner Bros., 1978)
27. Al Green - Call Me (Hi, 1973)
28. Aerosmith - Rocks (Columbia, 1976)
29. Beck - Odelay (DGC, 1996)
30. Little Richard - Grooviest 17 Original Hits! (Specialty, 1959)
31. Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia Legacy, 2000)
32. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (Curtom, 1972)
33. Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits (Mercury, 1978)
34. Steely Dan - Katy Lied (MCA, 1975)
35. The B-52's - The B-52's (Warner Bros., 1979)
36. Chic - Risqué (Atlantic, 1979)
37. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (Capitol, 1989)
38. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)
39. Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions (RCA/BMG, 1976)
40. Hole - Live Through This (DGC, 1994)
41. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968)
42. Patti Smith - Horses (Arista, 1975)
43. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On (Epic, 1971)
44. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (Death Row, 1992)
45. Pearl Jam - VS. (Epic, 1993)
46. Run-DMC - Raising Hell (Profile, 1986)
47. Phil Spector - Back to Mono (1958–69) (ABKCO, 1991)
48. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959)
49. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (Interscope, 1999)
50. Kiss - Destroyer (Casablanca, 1976)
51. Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (Asylum, 1974)
52. Randy Newman - 12 Songs (Reprise, 1970)
53. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (Jive, 1991)
54. Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol, 1955)
55. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes (Columbia, 1975)
56. Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire E(PIC, 1996)
57. Mary J. Blige - My Life (MCA, 1994)
58. Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Warner Bros., 1970)
59. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud/RCA, 1993)
60. Paul Simon - Graceland (Warner Bros., 1986)
61. The Coasters - 50 Coastin' Classics (Rhino, 1992)
62. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town (Columbia, 1978)
63. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (Columbia, 1968)
64. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (Reprise, 1974)
65. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (Columbia, 1958)
66. Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (Berserkley, 1976)
67. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (Matador, 1992)
68. TLC - Crazysexycool (Laface, 1994)
69. Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd) (MCA, 1973)
70. Prince - Sign "O" the Times (Paisley Park, 1987)
71. L.L. Cool J - Radio (Def Jam, 1985)
72. Carpenters - The Singles 1969–1981 (A&M, 2000)
73. Pixies - Surfer Rosa (4AD, 1988)
74. Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (Atlantic, 1968)
75. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia, 1998)
76. Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960 (Chess, 1960)
77. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (Warner Bros., 1998)
78. Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis (RCA, 1969)
79. Woody Guthrie - Dustbowl Ballads (Camden, 1964)
80. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope, 1994)
81. Various Artists - Nuggets: 1965–1968 (Elektra, 1972)
82. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989)
83. The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (SST, 1984)
84. Buddy Holly - Greatest Hits (MCA, 1995)
85. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (Columbia, 1975)
86. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (Reprise, 1970)
87. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (Warner Bros., 1992)
88. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing… (Mo'wax/FFRR, 1996)
89. Talking Heads - Remain in Light (Sire, 1980)
90. Weezer - Weezer (Geffen, 1994)
91. Eagles - Hotel California (Asylum, 1975)
92. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams (Rough Trade, 1988)
93. Tori Amos - Under the Pink (Atlantic, 1994)
94. Nirvana - In Utero (DGC, 1993)
95. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA, 1971)
96. Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause (Top Dog/Lava/Atlantic, 1998)
97. The Doors - The Doors (Elektra, 1967)
98. The Replacements - Let It Be (Twin Tone, 1984)
99. Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (Tamla, 1974)
100. Otis Redding - Otis Blue — Otis Redding Sings Soul (Atlantic, 1965)

Other than Sonic Youth, who do you think are the worst omissions? Smashing Pumpkins? Wilco? Soundgarden? Red Hot Chili Peppers? The Flaming Lips? The White Stripes? Devo? Let us know in the comments.

Now that Rolling Stone's list of 100 Immortals has been thoroughly parsed, here is another "greatest of all-time" list to chew on.

Back in 1998, VH1 asked 600 musicians to list what they felt were the greatest artists of all-time. As you might expect, the list included many artists who were already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the time, but it also includes a whopping 26 artists who weren't in the Hall, but have subsequently been inducted.

There are only twelve artists from the list who are not in the Rock Hall: Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Kiss, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Coltrane, Tina Turner, Devo, Iggy Pop, T. Rex, Carole King and Tom Waits. (Sting, Tina Turner and Carole King are already Hall of Famers, but not as solo performers.) So, when the list was created, 62 of the 100 artists were already Hall of Famers, and of the 38 that weren't, 68% were inducted within ten years. That's a pretty good track record.

We would love to see a new poll of musicians which would rank the top artists since 1980, and see how well that would predict future Hall of Famers.

Here is the complete list:

1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Bob Dylan
6. James Brown
7. David Bowie
8. Elvis Presley
9. The Who
10. The Police *
11. Stevie Wonder
12. Ray Charles
13. The Beach Boys
14. Marvin Gaye
15. Eric Clapton *
16. John Lennon
17. Elton John
18. Prince *
19. Pink Floyd
20. The Doors
21. Aretha Franklin
22. Fleetwood Mac
23. The Eagles
24. Bob Marley
25. Van Morrison
26. Chuck Berry
27. Bruce Springsteen *
28. Sly & the Family Stone
29. U2 *
30. Neil Young
31. The Clash *
32. Joni Mitchell
33. Queen *
34. Buddy Holly
35. Otis Redding
36. Little Richard
37. Al Green
38. Elvis Costello *
39. Miles Davis *
40. Michael Jackson *
41. Janis Joplin
42. Nirvana #
43. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers *
44. The Jackson Five
45. Crosby, Stills & Nash
46. The Sex Pistols *
47. Creedence Clearwater Revival
48. Van Halen *
49. Roy Orbison
50. R.E.M. *
51. B.B. King
52. Cream
53. Peter Gabriel #
54. The Grateful Dead
55. The Byrds
56. The Kinks
57. Steely Dan *
58. Sam Cooke
59. Bo Diddley
60. Earth, Wind & Fire *
61. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
62. Paul McCartney *
63. Sting ##
64. Frank Zappa
65. James Taylor *
66. Talking Heads *
67. Kiss #
68. The Allman Brothers
69. Pretenders *
70. Stevie Ray Vaughan #
71. Rod Stewart
72. Simon & Garfunkel
73. Muddy Waters
74. The Velvet Underground
75. Curtis Mayfield
76. The Bee Gees
77. John Coltrane #
78. Billy Joel *
79. Aerosmith *
80. Tina Turner ##
81. The Band
82. Devo #
83. Iggy Pop #
84. T. Rex #
85. Carole King ##
86. Madonna *
87. Santana
88. Ramones *
89. Johnny Cash
90. Tom Waits #
91. Gladys Knight & the Pips
92. The Temptations
93. The Four Tops
94. Diana Ross & the Supremes
95. Robert Johnson
96. Lynyrd Skynyrd *
97. Fats Domino
98. Traffic
99. Parliament/Funkadelic
100. Paul Simon *

* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after 1998
# Still not a Hall of Famer; Nirvana is the only artist listed who is not yet eligible because of the 25 year rule
## A Hall of Famer, but not as a solo performer

Update: This list is now next to the "Immortals" list too.

The incomparable Tom Lane e-mails in with this interesting news:

On Dave Marsh's weekly Sirius XM show, "Kick Out The Jams", he picked 5 names he would be voting for on this year's ballot:  Chic, War, Jeff Beck, Stooges, and Run DMC.

Marsh also said that this year's ballot was "flawless" and made a remark about how he opposed the Beastie Boys getting into the Hall.

He also said that he wouldn't vote for Metallica because they are going to get in anyway. 

Marsh's belief that the ballot is "flawless" is probably not shared by anyone else outside of the Nominating Committee, but that's great he's happy with the choices he helped make.

Four out of Marsh's five selections are currently leading Future Rock Hall's 2009 ballot, so he may have a chance to see many of his choices inducted in Cleveland on April 4, 2009.

Thanks, Tom. Check out Tom's top snubbed artists here.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's pop music critic, John Soeder, follows the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about as closely as any journalist out there. He recently offered his take on the 2009 nominees induction chances, summarized below.

Safe Bets: Metallica, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Stooges

Too Close To Call: Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Chic

Long Shots: Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, War

Soeder's confidence in the induction of Little Anthony and the Imperials is a little surprising, given this is the first time they have been nominated in over 20 years of eligibility.

You can cast your own ballot here and weigh in on the nominations here.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee got together today in New York to hold their annual meeting to determine the 2009 ballot. USA Today has a feature article speculating about who the committee might nominate, and they come to the conclusion that Bon Jovi has the best chance of any of the newly eligible artists:

The closest thing to the Madonnas, R.E.M.s, Van Halens and U2s that have starred at recent inductions is probably Bon Jovi.

Another leading prospect is the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the rest of the crop — including Cyndi Lauper, k.d. lang, Billy Bragg, and metal extremists Slayer — are more marginal prospects.

Which means the committee will need to turn to holdovers — those previously eligible artists who have yet to gain sufficient support. Among them are previous nominees Chic, Donna Summer and the Beastie Boys, all of whom must confront the "Is disco or rap really rock?" conundrum that regularly polarizes voters and fans.

Bon Jovi is currently leading USA Today's reader poll with 29% of the vote. Rush (15%), Metallica (10%) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (10%) are the other leading artists.

Future Rock Hall has announced its prediction of the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees: The Stooges, Chic, Metallica, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Hollies, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Kraftwerk and Donna Summer. Check out the full story here.

Does Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals" hold the keys to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Find out here.

The Shortlist Organization announced today the 2007 finalists for the Shortlist Music Prize:

• Arcade Fire -- Neon Bible
• Burial -- Untrue
• Feist -- The Reminder
• Justice -- †
• LCD Soundsystem -- Sound of Silver
• M.I.A. -- Kala
• Spoon -- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• Stars -- In our Bedroom After The War
• Wilco -- Sky Blue Sky
• Working for a Nuclear Free City -- Businessmen & Ghosts

The Shortlist Music Prize (fair warning: it's an awful website) is where "the worlds most creative recording artists honor their peers," so it is a good (but not perfect) indicator of what current artists are listening to, and could therefore be a measuring stick for future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Something to keep an eye on in the years to come if they can get the right "Listmakers" (i.e. no more radio DJ's).

For the past couple of years, the good folks over at A List of Things Thrown Together Five Minutes Ago (ALLOT5MA) have been grading various artists' Rock Hall credentials using a method adapted from baseball analysis. The original Keltner list was developed by the brilliant baseball analyst Bill James to help determine which baseball players deserve to be in Cooperstown. ALOTT5MA adapted the list of questions for the Rock Hall (shown here from their analysis of Metallica):

1. Was Metallica ever regarded as the best artist in rock music? Did anybody, while Metallica was active, ever suggest that Metallica was the best artist in rock music?
2. Was Metallica ever the best artist in rock music in its genre?
3. Was Metallica ever considered the best at its instruments?
4. Did Metallica have an impact on a number of other bands?
5. Was Metallica good enough that it could play regularly after passing its prime?
6. Is Metallica the very best artist in history that is not in the Hall of Fame?
7. Are most bands who have a comparable recording history and impact in the Hall of Fame?
8. Is there any evidence to suggest that Metallica was significantly better or worse than is suggested by its statistical records?
9. Is Metallica the best artist in its genre that is eligible for the Hall of Fame?
10. How many #1 singles/gold records did Metallica have? Did Metallica ever win a Grammy award? If not, how many times was Metallica nominated?
11. How many Grammy-level songs/albums did Metallica have? For how long of a period did Metallica dominate the music scene? How many Rolling Stone covers did Metallica appear on? Did most of the bands with this sort of impact go into the Hall of Fame?
12. If Metallica were the best band at a concert, would it be likely that the concert would rock?
13. What impact did Metallica have on rock history? Was it responsible for any stylistic changes? Did it introduce any new equipment? Did it change history in any way?
14. Did the band uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

Obviously not every question can be answered objectively (and thus won't provide definitive answers), but it does provide a useful guide when trying to figure out the worthiness of artists who may be on the bubble.

Check out their analysis of Donna Summer (yes), Madonna (absolutely), Chic (no), Duran Duran (yes), John Mellencamp (bubble, but yes), The Replacements (yes), Depeche Mode (no), Phil Collins (no), and of course, Rush (no). You can browse all of those and more right here. Hopefully the actual Rock Hall voters give as much thought into their choices as these guys do.

The results from the annual Cleveland Plain Dealer Rock Hall poll have been announced, and John Mellencamp was the leading vote-getter for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other four artists who "won" are Madonna, the Dave Clark Five, Donna Summer, and the Ventures. Although the Plain Dealer poll received just 170 ballots, the results are very similar to the Future Rock Hall poll (which is still open with over 2000 ballots already cast). The only difference between the polls is that Future Rock Hall voters prefer the Beastie Boys over the Ventures.

Official Rock Hall ballots were due on Monday this week with the winners to be announced in January.

The 500+ members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Voting Committee will be receiving their 2008 ballots soon. They will be instructed to vote for exactly five out of the nine nominees, since only five will be inducted in March. Future Rock Hall is the only place you will find an accurate representation of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot which puts you in the position of a Voting Committee member.

For the 2007 ballot, Future Rock Hall voters accurately predicted four out of the five inductees.

Cast your 2008 Rock Hall ballot here!

Future Rock Hall has announced its prediction of the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations: Metallica, Madonna, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Afrika Bambaataa, The Stooges, The Dave Clark Five, Chic, John Mellencamp, The Cure, and Kraftwerk. Check out the full story here.

Cleveland Scene recently took a look at the future prospects of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and found that it's as clear as mud.

[T]he Rock Hall's future [is] as sketchy as a Detroit Avenue hooker on meth. The Hall's website claims that one of its goals is "to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll." But how will it measure that? By record sales? Innovation? Will there be quotas for gender and race, as well as genres like hip-hop and techno? Or is it just one big popularity contest?

Scene called and asked, but Rock Hall spokeswoman Margaret Thresher didn't have a response. "Good question," she said.

The answer is that without a concrete definition of rock, there is no science to make the induction process flawless. Outside of Nirvana, the next decade doesn't boast many safe picks. Even Madonna will be a controversial inductee, seeing as the pop diva never released a rock record in her entire career.

Then there are the guys who sold out arenas, only to end up on the cheesy VH1 rock docs -- the Poisons and New Kids on the Blocks of the world. No one would claim they were innovative or had any staying power (NKOTB didn't even rawk!). But they defined musical eras and sold gobs 'n' gobs of records (even though they now make up 90 percent of the stock at the Record Exchange).

How will this shadowy induction committee weigh those guys against, say, the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. -- artists that aren't household names and never graced the cover of Rolling Stone, but created whole new genres and birthed hundreds of new bands?

They go on to take a look at ten artists' chances for future induction:

• Judas Priest - too scary
• Guns N' Roses - likely
• Captain Beefheart - too "out-there", but deserving
• Sting - too schmaltzy
• Black Flag - deserving, but too atonal
• Alanis Morissette - influential, but in a bad way
• Dr. Dre - probably with N.W.A., but not solo
• John Mayer - watered down Clapton
• Kraftwerk - should be in, but too German?
• Babyface - the 1990s' Phil Spector

Astute fans of Future Rock Hall will notice that the Induction Chances formula has been adjusted to better reflect an artist's odds of ever being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Onion's A.V. Club has taken a stab at predicting which artists will someday be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let's take a look at their predictions and how they compare to the Future Rock Hall induction chances.

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The A.V. Club predicts these artists will get in:

Artist	A.V. Club Odds	FRH Chances
Madonna	2-1	83%
John Mellencamp	2-1	62%
Beastie Boys	3-1	83%
Pearl Jam	3-1	81%
Public Enemy	5-1	74%
Coldplay	5-1	61%
The Replacements	6-1	61%

The A.V. Club is pretty safe with these predictions even though their odds should be much higher.

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The A.V. Club predicts these artists will be "on the bubble":

Artist	A.V. Club Odds	FRH Chances
Tupac Shakur	8-1	45%
The Smiths	8-1	73%
Dave Matthews Band	9-1	51%
New Order	10-1	72%
Pavement	12-1	65%
Oasis	13-1	71%
The Flaming Lips	15-1	58%

Again, the A.V. Club underestimates the chances these artists have. Remember, the Rock Hall voting committee will eventually be represented by a generation of music experts who grew up in the 80's and 90's, and will have a keen understanding of the significance of these artists. It may be 20 years, but it will happen.

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This last group won't make the cut, according to the A.V. Club:

Artist	A.V. Club Odds	FRH Chances
Hüsker Dü	25-1	66%
XTC	40-1	55%
Yo La Tengo	50-1	47%
De La Soul	100-1	40%

Future Rock Hall and its users have much more confidence that the Hall of Fame will someday recognize these artist than the A.V. Club does.

Overall, the A.V. Club chose an excellent sample of artists to highlight, the majority of whom will likely be in the Rock Hall within 25 years.