If we expanded this to 1,000....

Committee Chairman and Dr. Clayton Forrester, thanks for the shout-out on my article.

Increasing the list to 1000 is really only an indicator of how huge pop music has become, and of how many artists are "worthy of mention." But there is a huge gap between "worthy of mention" and actually being a Hall of Fame act. I've maintained that maybe the top 50--100 if I'm in a generous mood--deserve genuine consideration for the Hall.

So, increasing the pool is fine by me to accommodate acts as, year by year, they become eligible. But the bottom line is that the great majority of the names are polite acknowledgements of their careers and not serious contenders. And speaking of which . . .

Weird Al? Seriously? We are going to reward someone for doing song parodies? Yes, I know he has written original songs (call me twisted, but I still find "Christmas at Ground Zero" hilarious), but is he really that innovative and influential? Playing the equivalency/contingency game, how about this: Sure, Yankovic can go in--but only if Tom Lehrer goes in first, at least as an Early Influence. Because without Lehrer, you don't have Yankovic. You can ask Dr. Demento about that.

Nice nod to Tom Lehrer. I've been known to sing the Hunting Song from time to time. Thinking about it, I wonder if Billy Joel was ever influenced by him.

Cinderella
Saga

I can think of eleven bands from this side of the Atlantic that are more important than half of what you've got here.

These three synth pop bands are both more popular and more critically acclaimed than Japan, Talk Talk and ABC:
Ultravox ( Actually possible to get at least nominated in the next ten years as Midge Ure gets Live Aid points too; Album: Vienna, Song: Dancing with Tears in my Eyes)
Alphaville ( Album: Forever Young, Song: Big in Japan)
Yello ( The most direct progenitor of "better" Techno e.g. House, Trance, Dr'n'B etc.; Album: You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, Song: Oh Yeah)

From my native Finland:
Hanoi Rocks ( Big influence for the likes of Mötley Crüe and Guns and Roses; Album: All Those Wasted Years, Song: Tragedy)

Guess there's one more for Sweden too as there are way worse hair metal bands like Warrant and Poison here:
Europe ( Album and Song: Final Countdown)

The two biggest names in British "pub rock", both very important predecessors to British punk bands:
Dr. Feelgood ( Album: Down by the Jetty, Song: Roxette)
Eddie and the Hot Rods ( Album: Teenage Depression, Song: Do Anything You Wanna Do)

Arguably more critically acclaimed 80's British post-punk bands than Killing Joke:
The Fall ( Very influential to the likes of Sonic Youth and Arctic Monkeys; Album: Hex Enduction Hour, Song: The Lay of the Land)
Aztec Camera ( Album: High Land, Hard Rain, Song: Somewhere in my Heart)

LBGT points could be important for political correctnes if say Dire Straits gets inducted:
Tom Robinson Band ( Huge critical acclaim; Album: Power in the Darkness, Song: 2-4-6-8 Motorway)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood ( Huge commercial success, Album: Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Song: Relax)