Well, maybe it’s the nominating committee that’s handicapped, but I’m gonna give you my take, followed by who I want in and who I believe will get in.

1. Guns ‘N Roses

Don’t overthink this, don’t worry about this being their first year of eligibility. If GNR doesn’t get in on the first ballot we should occupy Cleveland and demand they shut the Hall down. GNR made one of the greatest debuts of all time, one of the two best hard rock records ever (the other being "Back In Black"), and although the "Illusions" were overbaked, they still stood heads and heels above almost all of the dreck out there.

As for Axl being insane… The good thing is nobody can have a vendetta against him, we don’t hold grudges against the mentally ill.

I don’t think their induction, which will happen, will bring the original group back together to record and tour, but that’s gonna happen too, because they’re giving away tickets to Axl’s version of the act all over North America and this guy goes through money like a kid goes through Pez and financial ruin will do what no amount of Azoff cajoling could make happen, which is bring the original band back together.

2. Laura Nyro

How David Geffen made his first million.
The fact that she ain’t in is criminal, just as bad as keeping Alice Cooper out for eons. Nyro had it all, she could write, sing and play. The Prince of her day, not only did she have a solo career, her songs were hits for so many others. Let her in and bring her back. I still play her albums, doesn’t anybody else?

3. Donna Summer

Curious. Although she was the progenitor of disco, Donna also rocked, "Bad Girls" is one of the best rock albums of 1979. She gets in, deservedly so. Love to love her baby.

4. The Small Faces/The Faces

Two completely different groups. Rod Stewart’s already in, so we can forget the latter-day band.  As for the original group…  Steve Marriott’s disappearance from the public consciousness is not as tragic as that of Laura Nyro, but he had an incredible voice and "Itchycoo Park"…I had to buy that single, just to hear the phasing.

But Small Faces were bigger in the U.K. than over here. And it was so long ago. They won’t get in, and I’m not sure they deserve to.

5. Heart

Won’t get in, but should. Forget the eighties MTV hits, go back to the seventies. They broke ground, they were the Billie Jean Kings of music. It was the Wilson sisters’ band. And Ann had pipes that were staggering, so pure in an era where it couldn’t be faked. Play the half-speed mastered vinyl version of "Dreamboat Annie"…  "Magic Man" will floor you (speaking of which, let’s not forget the producer, Mike Flicker!) I heard "Love Alive" on the radio the other night and I couldn’t turn it off, even though I was in my garage. I could recite track after track…play "Never" and "Nothing At All", never mind "Crazy On You". Just because they were not involved in sex scandals and were not art rockers that doesn’t mean Heart were not groundbreakers.

6. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Give me a break. So she had a couple of hit singles, incredible, but she didn’t even write "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll". And despite all the press, the Runaways were not very good. Not everybody gets a trophy. Joan’s a journeyman (woman?). She deserves some respect, but not an award.

7. Freddie King

Very talented, but a second tier bluesman.

If you put him in, can Don Brewer sing the famous lines from "We’re An American Band"?

Up all night, with Freddie King
I got to tell you, poker’s his thing

And while we’re at it, can’t we have a special groupies division, with Sweet Connie and the Plaster Casters?

8. Red Hot Chili Peppers

They might get in, I applaud their longevity, but their most memorable era was the one including John Frusciante, who’s no longer in the band. Can we let them in for the few albums he was on? I wouldn’t, but the voters might.

9. Rufus with Chaka Khan

I once spent a night in the Troubadour bar with Chaka Khan and her then husband, Richard Holland. She was friendly and nice and I was a nobody and I never forgot it. Incredible pipes, thin body of work. The big hit was written by Stevie Wonder…  Shouldn’t get in and won’t.

10. The Spinners

My old friend Fontaine Brown turned me on to "Rubberband Man", he used to do a killer version of it live, with all the attendant swagger. They’ve had tons of hits, let ’em in, it’s fine with me.

11. Eric B. & Rakim

Is it the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame or..?
I don’t want to pass judgment on Eric B. & Rakim, definitely a memorable act, but what exactly are the criteria for induction again?

12. War

A sentimental favorite. I was never a fan, but the backstory is fascinating, the mix of cultures, but I don’t think they deserve inclusion. But if you’re gonna let Joan Jett in, War comes first.

13. Donovan

Unjustly overlooked. Just because Dylan trashed him in "Don’t Look Back", that doesn’t mean he wasn’t great. For "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow" alone. Have you LISTENED to "Sunshine Superman"? Purely for the sound, Donovan deserves to get in. He might have been lightweight, but he wasn’t me-too, and he had tons of hits and incredible vocalizations.

14. Beastie Boys

It’s all about "Paul’s Boutique". Capitol blundered, but this was the album, a trendsetter that is still relevant today. Incredible Dust Brothers production before they hooked up with Beck. They get in, but if they didn’t, I wouldn’t cry.

15. The Cure

If having hard core fans got you in, Rush would already be inducted. Robert Smith is incredibly talented, has had extreme longevity, but it’s not his time yet. They want stars, people the public will recognize.

Should get in according to me:

1. Guns ‘N Roses
2. Laura Nyro
3. Donna Summer
4. Donovan
5. Heart

Will get in:

1. Guns ‘N Roses
2. Donna Summer
3. Beastie Boys
4. Freddie King
5. Donovan

I’d put Laura Nyro on this list and eliminate Donovan, but I don’t want to jinx it. And if it weren’t for the Beastie Boys, Eric B. & Rakim would get in. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chili Peppers took Donovan’s place and Freddie King and War are almost interchangeable, but Freddie’s got the edge, he’s dead.

But you know how this works, right? Individuals champion acts, bludgeoning others on the nominating committee. There’s more corruption in the Hall than there is on K Street. And methinks the voting machines are made by Diebold (wink, wink!)

But it’s all irrelevant. You don’t have to be in the Hall to be great. Thunderclap Newman will never be inducted, but "Something In The Air" never dies. Hall & Oates were incredibly good and commercially successful, but somehow that doesn’t count.

So have fun with it, but don’t take it all too seriously.