An accomplished Jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny has garnered critical acclaim for his Jazz interpretations. Metheny may very well be one of the more ambitious Jazz performers as his work incorporated far more influences (World, Fusion for example) than most, yet he was able to do so without losing his basic appeal. As such, Metheny has a limitless quality about him as it seems to be little that he can’t do. Having said that, with a list full of accomplished Jazz artists, Metheny could get a surprise look as his music was a little more diverse than other Jazz superstars and he could have a lit more of that “Rock Credibility” than most.

A guitar virtuoso with few equals, Joe Satriani holds the undesirable record of the most Grammy nominations (15) without a win. Satriani primarily recorded instrumentals which were technically brilliant and immersed with his own unique style. Despite his unquestionable skills, generally instrumental guitarists face a bit of an uphill battle in the performer category.

Many a Rock band was based on their subtlety. The Undertones were not one of those bands. If anything, they were a band that may have understood the basic ideal of Rock and Roll better than anyone as their blend of Garage Rock during the Punk Years was very much a celebration of the Rock and Roll spirit. While other Rock bands of their era were busy making statements, this was a band that was just making Rock music; funny how that was forgotten in one of Rock’s best eras.

One of the true bad boys of early Rock and Roll, Larry Williams emerged from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks (he was allegedly pimping and dealing before he recorded any music). With music that was rowdy and infectious he took over where Little Richard left off (or feared to go). With a series of hits that appealed to both black and white audiences Williams was poised to be a huge star but drug problems forced his label to drop him. Williams went on a downward spiral and despite a few attempted comebacks was never a star again. He has a great footnote in Rock history and could get in if the Hall overlooks his demise, which is tragic even by Rock and Roll standards.