The newest class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees has been announced, which means it’s time to discuss this year’s most surprising inclusions and frustrating exclusions.

The 2026 class is dominated by first-time nominees, ten in total including Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, INXS, New Edition, Pink, Shakira, Luther Vandross, and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Seven repeat nominees are also getting another chance at induction this year: The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division / New Order, Oasis, and Sade.

The inductees will be announced in April, which gives us barely a month to debate. Let’s get started…

1) Who is this year’s most surprising nominee?

Michael Gallucci: Pink’s name really stands out among this year’s nominees. You can make a case for everyone else here. Even with my back against the wall, I don’t know if I could come up with a valid reason for her name being on this list.

Allison Rapp: For some reason, it had never occurred to me that Phil Collins hasn’t been nominated before as a solo artist, especially considering that his fellow Genesis alumni Peter Gabriel was given that honor over a decade ago. There are many newer rock fans who may not even know Collins was in another band before his solo career happened…

Bryan Rolli: I certainly didn’t expect to see New Edition on this year’s list. I know the Rock Hall has made more nods to vintage pop and R&B in recent years, but this seems way out of left field. Nominating the prototype for the modern boy band also feels like a bad sign for future classes, but that’s a complaint for another time.

Nick DeRiso: Unlike certain teased-wig made-up types, I tend to give the Rock Hall a wide berth – especially when they’re simply announcing nominees. After all, the induction classes have moved far afield of guitar-led rock from the very beginning. But Pink? Neither groundbreaking nor influential. Even bubble-gummy New Edition matured into something far more interesting after Johnny Gill joined.

Corey Irwin: Clearly I’m in the minority here, but I’m not surprised to see Pink on this list. Now the name that DID jump out at me was Shakira. She’s had an important and influential career, but even taking a very broad interpretation of “rock,” I can’t find a reasonable argument for her inclusion here.

Matthew Wilkening: There are two kinds of surprises here. First, how did nobody realize Phil Collins wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame as a solo artist? (Also: in future years can those same people realize Robert Plant and Sammy Hagar are also in need of solo inductions?)

Second, who on earth thinks there is anything remotely rock and roll about Mariah Carey? I am all for including artists from other genres into the Hall of Fame. Madonna is rock and roll; Public Enemy is rock and roll. Mariah Carey is a soggy Hallmark card come to life.

2) Who were you most surprised to see excluded from this year’s nominees?

Gallucci: Given the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s penchant in recent years to nominate at least one neglected classic rock act from the ’60s or ’70s, it’s somewhat surprising not to see a band like Jethro Tull or King Crimson on this year’s ballot.

Rapp: I was sort of expecting to see Phish again. Mainly because it seems like we’ve reached a new era of jam band popularity with acts like Goose and Billy Strings who definitely grew out of the movement Phish started years ago. I’m not even their biggest fan, but Phish did win the fan vote last year by a huge margin. That should tell you something.

Rolli: It’s been a few years since the New York Dolls got shafted; I thought it might be their turn to step back up and get snubbed again. I’m also surprised not to see the Strokes, who became eligible this year and are one of the most consequential rock bands of the 21st century.

DeRiso: After a flurry of nominations and inductees, both the prog and country genres seem to have wandered back into the Rock Hall wilderness. It’s a shame. That said, Phish’s absence was a bigger surprise. Any act with that level of fan-vote support has certainly earned a spot on another ballot.

Irwin: I feel like the Hall has used recent classes to right long-standing wrongs (see Foreigner, Ozzy’s solo induction, etc.), so I fully expected this to be the year that Styx finally garnered a nomination. I also expected to see Alice in Chains get their long-awaited nomination since they’re the last of grunge’s “Big 4” not to earn induction.

Graff: I’m surprised Phish didn’t get another shot. Definitely the next jam band that merits induction and hey if you can fill the Sphere….

Wilkening: Here’s the Big 4 of 2026 Rock Hall nomination snubs: Phish (last year’s biggest vote-getter), Styx (should have been this year’s nod to ’70s classic rock), Alice in Chains (to complete the Seattle foursome), and anybody from the world of country music.

Read More: 135 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

3) This year’s class features 10 first-time nominees: Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, INXS, New Edition, Pink, Shakira, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan. Which of them should get inducted first?

Gallucci: Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan are the most deserving artists whose influence was almost immediate with their first records.

Rapp: I know this contradicts what I said above about Phil Collins, but out of all those names I think Jeff Buckley would be my choice. Obviously he only released one album but that album continues to be cited by singer-songwriters over and over again as a template for a certain kind of moody ethereal sound. Sometimes one release is all it takes to change the game.

Rolli: It’s got to be Phil Collins. No other first-time nominee on this list has a more impressive resume or genuine classic rock credentials. Sure Collins already got inducted as a member of Genesis in 2010 but his blockbuster solo career stands on its own merit.

DeRiso: Phil Collins was so ubiquitous that it’s difficult to believe he hasn’t already been inducted. That said Luther Vandross is one of the most important figures in R&B with 11 consecutive platinum albums and seven chart-topping songs. More than that he’s one of the most effortless emotional yet technically gifted singers of his or any other generation.

Irwin: Phil Collins should have been inducted as a solo artist long ago. It’s shocking that it’s taken this long for him to appear on the ballot. I’d also love to see INXS get in but Collins is undoubtedly the choice here.

Graff: Luther Vandross by a nose over INXS. We know it’s not about what we would call rock ‘n’ roll — for awhile now — and he has the chops as well as collaboration credits with several Rock Hallers (David Bowie Aretha Franklin Dionne Warwick Todd Rundgren Stevie Wonder Chaka Khan Diana Ross Donna Summer).

Wilkening: Several of these names would be on my ballot but Phil Collins is the big glaring “Oh wow we need to fix this… now” answer.

4) Of the seven previously nominated artists – The Black Crowes Mariah Carey Billy Idol Iron Maiden Joy Division / New Order Oasis and Sade – who is most overdue for induction?

Gallucci: Joy Division and New Order — so much of the alternative and indie rock scenes from the 1980s until present day can be traced back to these two distinctive bands.

Rapp:If we’re talking about sheer length of time that’s passed since they were first eligible it’s got to be Iron Maiden. Are they not poster children for English heavy metal? Something seems off about that.

Rolli:I’ve said this for as many years as I’ve worked here and I’ll keep saying it for as long as they get snubbed: Iron Maiden. No I will not be elaborating.

DeRiso:Their crushing tragedy overcame them. They were foundational in post-punk and then new wave. And they ultimately succeeded with a groundbreaking secret weapon in Gillian Gilbert. I’ve said it before actually more than once and I’ll say it again: Joy Division/New Order.

Irwin:I think Iron Maiden may be the most overdue act in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame history. We know they don’t care about induction but their fans certainly do. Plus those of us who write on such subjects would love to finally remove them from our “snubbed” lists.

Graff:I say Iron Maiden make that mf-ing Iron Maiden! The number of beasts must go up this year!

Wilkening:The Iron Maiden thing has gone way past ridiculousness into ludicrousness straight into plaid! But clearly they could give less than two damns so let’s shift our attention to 2025 nominee who was most inexplicably snubbed: Billy Idol.