Of all the Roots-Reggae singers, Burning Spear had to the most politically conscious. Singing of the Rastafarian movement and other songs of historical context, Burning Spear may have not have been the most commercially viable, but he may have spoke for his island’s issues better than anyone else ever did. Burning Spear however is likely not going to be the next Reggae artist (if there ever is one) to get the call from Cleveland.

The first thought of Kenny Rogers these days may revolve his ill advised plastic surgery but there was a time when Kenny Rogers was the undisputed king of Country Pop and his crossover appeal was off the charts. Ironically, this could work against him in terms of the Rock and Roll Hall, as he was not Rock enough for the Hall nor was he Country enough to have the same respect that the Outlaw musicians had. Still, there would be much more bizarre Country based choices than “the Gambler”.

Not exactly the type of music that you may expect to come out of Oklahoma, the Flaming Lips became critical darlings with their brand of Alternative Pop. With music as weird as it is beautiful and with a fearless attitude towards their music making, it shouldn’t be a surprise if this band climbs the ranking in our future lists as the Flaming Lips have the makings of an Alternative act whose legacy could be on a constant rise.

A very polarizing band even in Progressive Rock circles, the Alan Parsons Project certainly had its share of fans who loved their science fiction based artistic brand of music. Those who disliked the Project found them pretentious and overproduced. They were however unique, and likely deserve better than to have their string of success be reduced to the opening entrance (Sirius) to Sports franchises.