2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced – Kiss and Nirvana Lead The Way

The often-controversial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released the nominees for this year's class.  Check out the full list here!

Nirvana and KISS headline the group, which also features Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Yes and the Zombies.

The rest of the nominees are The Replacements, Cat Stevens, N.W.A. Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt, Chic, The Meters, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band,  LL Cool J, and Link Wray.

What do you think of this year's group?  Who should make the cut, who should miss out?

Here's my take (in alphabetical order):

Cat Stevens - He can get points for longevity, but I don't think his full body of work really earns him a place in the HoF.

Chic - I think they've been influential enough to include. It's not "rock n roll", but there will always be that argument regarding the Hall. Great musical talent in the entire band, I think they'll get in eventually if not this year.

Deep Purple - How did it take this long?  What guitarist (since 1973) didn't play "Smoke On the Water" the first time they picked up the guitar? They need to be inducted.

Hall and Oates - They're a guilty pleasure of mine. Sure they're polished pop music, but it's damn good polished pop music. Good enough for the Hall?  Maybe, but not yet.

KISS - Okay, here we go. I'm not a Kiss fan. Sorry, Kiss Army! Please don't hate me. I'm just not into it. I never felt like there was enough substance to go along with the show.

Linda Ronstadt - She might pull a strong sentimental vote after revealing she's unable to perform due to Parkinson's Disease. She had a beautiful voice, released over 30 albums, worked with people varying from the Eagles to Johnny Cash to Neil Young to Philip Glass. I say she gets in.

Link Wray -  Admittedly I had to look up who this was. He was hugely influential guitarist, and the Hall tends to love these type. He'll likely get in.

LL Cool J - Sorry LL, ignoring the whole "rap vs rock" debate, I don't like his style enough to have him included in my personal "Rap Hall of Fame".

The Meters - Sorry, another band I don't know. You generally can't go wrong with 70s funk, but I don't see them belonging in the Hall.

Nirvana - Alright, the other heavyweight in this year's class. I absolutely support them entering the Hall, 100%. It's been said enough times to almost make it a cliche, but Nirvana changed the musical landscape. Before them it was all hairbands and Top40 drivel, but Nirvana came in, blew out some speakers and opened all our eyes.

N.W.A. - NWA does make my personal "Rap Hall of Fame", and I think they'll make it into the RnR HoF too. Putting aside the "rock vs rap" argument again, NWA was similar to Nirvana in changing the world.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - As much as the Hall loves old rock guitarists, they LOVE old bluesmen ever more. He'll get in at some point.

Peter Gabriel - Definitely deserving. He's had huge pop success, but really never let it change him. Every album he put out was what he wanted to do, regardless of how the public or the critics treated it. I respect that, and think he goes into the Hall.

The Replacements - I think they were great, but I'm not sure the Hall will recognize these college-rock legends.

Yes - Yes, yes, yes. Prog rock tends to get pushed into weirdo nerd category, but Yes is awesome no matter what. They need to get in.

The Zombies - I dig the Zombies. They were a great British Invasion band that didn't get the coverage of the Beatles or Stones or Kinks, but they were pretty damn good. They should get in soon if not now.