Had Aaliyah not perished in a plane crash in 2001, what would her relevance be today?  In the time she was alive, she had hit albums and was in hit movies and by all accounts was on a track to be among the top entertainers in the world.  The music she did do has been labeled as a link between R&B and Electronica and depending on how much credit she gets for that (or how much is given to her producers) she could receive a posthumous induction.  This should be very interesting.

Just when it thought that At the Drive-in was poised for a breakthrough they broke up.  The Texas based band reined as an important act of the Post-Hardcore scene.  Their music was well crafted and among the most cerebral and cryptic of its time.  They developed a sizeable cult following but as we have seen from the Hall and discussed on this site, cult bands, regardless of how good they might be very rarely receive consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but perhaps considering some of the members would form the highly acclaimed, Mars Volta, maybe there is a shot.

As the second most famous band from Sweden, Roxette scored many a hit in North America and Europe with their catchy hooks and sweet sounding Pop songs. This formula made them very successful and popular but with the lone exception of their Swedish brethren, ABBA, there really isn’t a pure Pop band in the Hall. Considering that it took ABBA a long time to get in, and that frankly Roxette is not at the level of ABBA, it doesn’t seem that Roxette really has a shot.

The star of the Power Pop movement of the 90’s, Matthew Sweet often did as much as he could to prove he was not going to be a mainstream artist. As such, Sweet did not always produce albums that would find an audience, but when he showcased his Alternative based Power Pop, there were few on his level. Without the 70’s Power Pop acts in, there doesn’t seem to be a place for Matthew Sweet in the Hall, despite the talent he has.