They may have been in the shadows of Madchester bands (The Happy Mondays & The Stone Roses) and later Brit Pop phenoms (Blur & Oasis) but a look back at the catalogue of the Charlatans shows a band that had was unfortunate to have had to take a back seat to anybody.  As they ever escaped those huge shadows (and barely made a dent in the American market) we can’t really see this very good (but largely overshadowed) band crack Cleveland’s Hall.

They may have formed as somewhat of an afterthought by artists who felt creatively stunted by their main groups (The Pixies and Throwing Muses respectively), but the American Alternative group, the Breeders had a shot to be one of the top bands of the 90’s.  Their acclaimed 1993 album, Last Splash showed off their skills and a prime spot on that year’s Lollapalooza tour.  Had they followed up, they likely would have been much bigger than they were.

Pigeonholing Teenage Fanclub as a band that just simply ushered in the Power Pop revival seems easy to do.  Of course it was just a fraction of what this band was about as their infectious brand of Alternative music was drawing from multiple influences.  Throughout their career, Teenage Fanclub was beloved by the critics, but their appeal never seemed to get past underground status.  As such, an induction for this very good (but barely heard of) band seems unlikely at this stage upon eligibility. 

Easily one of the most important Alternative bands of the 1990’s, the Smashing Pumpkins were able to become Alternative stars without sounding like the Grunge stars that they were often lumped in with.  The Pumpkins could master varying emotions effortlessly easily delivering songs with unparalleled sorrow to tunes of blistering rage.  They delivered these skills to the video medium, and their overall videos of the 90’s are on par with any other band that could be named.  Billy Corgan and company may not get in on the first year of eligibility, but for a few years they were right there at the top. This could be anywhere from a quick induction to a twenty year wait.