The last half of the 1980’s was very kind to Poison. They were one of the top Hair Metal bands selling out arenas world wide and dominating music television. Their music was fun party music mixed with some of the most successful power ballads of the era. Like many bands, drug abuse and infighting hampered their growth, but in the early 90’s “fun” music was not selling records anymore and Poison became synonymous with everything that was wrong with music from the 80’s. One of Poison’s biggest hits was preaching about having nothing but a good time, which was one of Rock and Roll’s original messages. They were not a deep band, but they never tried to be.

Known primarily as a band that Kurt Cobain once worshipped, Melvins were a Washington state based band that have been called by some as the true “Godfathers of Grunge”. Their music had a deliberately slow and plodding pace and their Godfather nickname does have some credence as many Grunge acts cited them as an influence. They were far from one dimensional; as they were a very experimental band whose entire catalogue shows depth. Still together, still touring and still recording, the Melvins are seemingly the last of their genre still together. Based on who they have influenced, they may have an outside shot for induction.

Although Eric B. & Rakim were far from the first Rap stars of note, they may have done more to further the genre of Hip Hop than anyone else on the latter half of the 1980’s. With unequalled chemistry, the duo comprised of Eric B.’s solid DJ skills and the leading MC of his time, Rakim. This was the Hip Hop blueprint that others would follow as the combinations of articulate MCs and creative DJs became staples on industry labels for years to come. The next wave of Hip Hop heavyweights largely pointed to Eric B. & Rakim as one of their great influences. Although they did not dominate the charts, this duo has a real shot to be a first ballot entry as the Hall has shown it does appreciate the genre of Rap.