This is a project to rank the Rock And Roll Hall Of famers, from most deserving to least deserving. Here's how it will work. Each round will consist of each voter ranking, in order, from 1 to 10, the 10 most deserving hall of famers who have not yet made our rankings. Points will be awarded as follows.

1 - 12 points
2 - 10 points
3 - 9 points
4 - 8 points
5 - 7 points
6 - 6 points
7 - 5 points
8 - 4 points
9 - 3 points
10 - 2 points

The points will be tabulated, and the top 5 point totals in each round will be elected and listed in order. If there is a tie for the 5th spot, the 6th inductee will also be ranked and the next round we will only induct four.

Ties will be broken thusly.
1 - Number of listings
2 - highest individual listing
3 - point total from the previous round

ROUND ONE

Rank the ten most deserving Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers in order from 1 to 10. Below is the list of inductees to be considered for your ballot. It includes only the main performers and the early influences.

This is NOT about your personal favorites. You are being asked to judge the hall of fame worthiness of each of the inductees.

DEADLINE FOR THIS ROUND IS THURSDAY APRIL 12 at MIDNIGHT EDT.

1986 Chuck Berry
1986 James Brown and Famous Flames
1986 Ray Charles
1986 Sam Cooke
1986 Fats Domino
1986 Everly Brothers
1986 Buddy Holly and Crickets
1986 Jerry Lee Lewis
1986 Little Richard
1986 Elvis Presley
1987 Coasters
1987 Eddie Cochran
1987 Bo Diddley
1987 Aretha Franklin
1987 Marvin Gaye
1987 Bill Haley and Comets
1987 B.B. King
1987 Clyde McPhatter
1987 Ricky Nelson
1987 Roy Orbison
1987 Carl Perkins
1987 Smokey Robinson and Miracles
1987 Big Joe Turner
1987 Muddy Waters
1987 Jackie Wilson
1988 Beach Boys
1988 Beatles
1988 Drifters
1988 Bob Dylan
1988 Supremes
1989 Dion
1989 Otis Redding
1989 Rolling Stones
1989 Temptations
1989 Stevie Wonder
1990 Hank Ballard and Midnighters
1990 Bobby Darin
1990 Four Seasons
1990 Four Tops
1990 Kinks
1990 Platters
1990 Simon & Garfunkel
1990 The Who
1991 LaVern Baker
1991 The Byrds
1991 John Lee Hooker
1991 The Impressions
1991 Wilson Pickett
1991 Jimmy Reed
1991 Ike and Tina Turner
1992 Bobby "Blue" Bland
1992 Booker T. & the M.G.'s
1992 Johnny Cash
1992 Isley Brothers
1992 Jimi Hendrix Experience
1992 Sam & Dave
1992 The Yardbirds
1993 Ruth Brown
1993 Cream
1993 Creedence Clearwater Revival
1993 The Doors
1993 Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
1993 Etta James
1993 Van Morrison
1993 Sly & the Family Stone
1994 The Animals
1994 The Band
1994 Duane Eddy
1994 Grateful Dead
1994 Elton John
1994 John Lennon
1994 Bob Marley
1994 Rod Stewart
1995 Allman Brothers Band
1995 Al Green
1995 Janis Joplin
1995 Led Zeppelin
1995 Martha and the Vandellas
1995 Neil Young
1995 Frank Zappa
1996 David Bowie
1996 Gladys Knight & the Pips
1996 Jefferson Airplane
1996 Little Willie John
1996 Pink Floyd
1996 Shirelles
1996 Velvet Underground
1997 Bee Gees
1997 Buffalo Springfield
1997 Crosby, Stills & Nash
1997 The Jackson 5
1997 Joni Mitchell
1997 Parliament-Funkadelic
1997 The Rascals
1998 Eagles
1998 Fleetwood Mac
1998 Mamas & The Papas
1998 Lloyd Price
1998 Santana
1998 Gene Vincent and Blue Caps
1999 Billy Joel
1999 Curtis Mayfield
1999 Paul McCartney
1999 Del Shannon
1999 Dusty Springfield
1999 Bruce Springsteen
1999 The Staple Singers
2000 Eric Clapton
2000 Earth, Wind & Fire
2000 TheThe Lovin' Spoonful
2000 The Moonglows
2000 Bonnie Raitt
2000 James Taylor
2001 Aerosmith
2001 Solomon Burke
2001 The Flamingos
2001 Michael Jackson
2001 Queen
2001 Paul Simon
2001 Steely Dan
2001 Ritchie Valens
2002 Isaac Hayes
2002 Brenda Lee
2002 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2002 Gene Pitney
2002 Ramones
2002 Talking Heads
2003 AC/DC
2003 The Clash
2003 Elvis Costello & the Attractions
2003 The Police
2003 Righteous Brothers
2004 Jackson Browne
2004 The Dells
2004 George Harrison
2004 Prince
2004 Bob Seger
2004 Traffic
2004 ZZ Top
2005 Buddy Guy
2005 The O'Jays
2005 Pretenders
2005 Percy Sledge
2005 U2
2006 Black Sabbath
2006 Blondie
2006 Miles Davis
2006 Lynyrd Skynyrd
2006 Sex Pistols
2007 Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
2007 R.E.M.
2007 The Ronettes
2007 Patti Smith
2007 Van Halen
2008 Dave Clark Five
2008 Leonard Cohen
2008 Madonna
2008 John Cougar Mellencamp
2008 The Ventures
2009 Jeff Beck
2009 Little Anthony & The Imperials
2009 Metallica
2009 Run-D.M.C.
2009 Bobby Womack
2010 ABBA
2010 Genesis
2010 Jimmy Cliff
2010 The Hollies
2010 The Stooges
2011 Alice Cooper
2011 Neil Diamond
2011 Dr. John
2011 Darlene Love
2011 Tom Waits
2012 Beastie Boys
2012 Donovan
2012 Guns N' Roses
2012 Laura Nyro
2012 Red Hot Chili Peppers
2012 The Small Faces/The Faces

1986 Jimmie Rodgers
1986 Jimmy Yancey
1986 Robert Johnson
1987 Louis Jordan
1987 T-Bone Walker
1987 Hank Williams
1988 Woody Guthrie
1988 Lead Belly
1988 Les Paul
1989 Ink Spots
1989 Bessie Smith
1989 Soul Stirrers
1990 Louis Armstrong
1990 Charlie Christian
1990 Ma Rainey
1991 Howlin' Wolf
1992 Elmore James
1992 Professor Longhair
1993 Dinah Washington
1994 Willie Dixon
1995 Sonny Til and the Orioles
1996 Pete Seeger
1997 Mahalia Jackson
1997 Bill Monroe
1998 Jelly Roll Morton
1999 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
1999 Charles Brown
2000 Nat King Cole
2000 Billie Holiday
2009 Wanda Jackson
2012 Freddie King

By my count there are 211 inductees who are eligible for these rankings.

Here's my ballot:

1 - Elvis Presley
2 - Chuck Berry
3 - Beatles
4 - James Brown
5 - Bob Dylan
6 - Little Richard
7 - Fats Domino
8 - Ray Charles
9 - Rolling Stones
10 - Beach Boys

This is not just who the greatest artists are. It's who are the most deserving of being in the hall of fame. To me, the earlier acts get a bonus because the later acts would never have existed if not for them.

1 - Elvis Presley
2 - The Beatles
3 - Chuck Berry
4 - The Who
5 - Little Richard
6 - James Brown
7 - The Rolling Stones
8 - Bob Dylan
9 - The Beach Boys
10 - Fats Domino

LOL.....I guess you missed this part:

This is NOT about your personal favorites. You are being asked to judge the hall of fame worthiness of each of the inductees.

You see The Who as more deserving than Dylan or the Stones?

Man, that's difficult. It's especially hard to compare those in different categories. I didn't go with any of the Early Influence artists because the biggest ones, such as Armstrong or Cole, have an importance that to a large extent is outside of rock. I also decided not to include any behind-the-scenes people who weren't directly involved in the music. But I'm going to have a hard time figuring where to rank Alan Freed or Berry Gordy, just as it will be difficult to know where to rank those Influences. Perhaps they shouldn't be mixed.

It also hurts not to be able to find room for the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder (see below), or Sam Cooke. I guess I've figured out my next three. (Sorry, Clash...The Who will probably be a few spots down from there, though.)

1 - Beatles
2 - Elvis Presley
3 - Chuck Berry
4 - Bob Dylan
5 - Ray Charles
6 - Little Richard
7 - Rolling Stones
8 - James Brown
9 - Aretha Franklin
10 - Holland-Dozier-Holland
EDITED TO ADD: since we've now dropped the Non-performers, make that 10 - Stevie Wonder

Now, is the main point of all this to see Laura Nyro come out last?

LOL.....It will be interesting to see who does come out near the bottom.

I got the idea from a preoject I am participating in right now, same premise with the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthrea ... er-161-165

This ranking is surprising, putting them ahead of even Smokey Robinson, who wrote and produced almost as many hits and also was a huge performer himself.

Maybe you're right about that. We'll cut it down to just the main performers and the early influences and not include the non-performers, sidemen, etc....

I'll drop Freed from my ballot and list someone else at #10. You'll have to do the same with your #10.

01. Leonard Cohen
02. Elton John
03. Michael Jackson
04. Prince
05. Madonna
06. The Beatles
07. The Rolling Stones
08. The Beach Boys
09. The Bee Gees
10. Van Halen

Are you some kind of a clown?

Leonard Cohen is THE most worthy hall of famer?

Yes, quality rules!

Yeah, it's a tough call among the different Motown guys, but I felt as though H-D-H sort of epitomized the label a little big more. And arguably Robinson's production and writing for other artists isn't part of his HoF case, at least technically, since he's in as a performer. Hmmm...

Anyway, I'll give the last spot to Stevie Wonder. (Will edit the post, too.)

So you think there's an objective measure of quality that puts Leonard Cohen *and Madonna* ahead of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, or Chuck Berry? Really?

Absolutely. The Who brought MUCH more to Rock 'n' Roll than the Rolling Stones did (more than Dylan, too). The Who actually expanded the genre in multiple important ways. The Rolling Stones did not. They were just really good at making Rock 'n' Roll and very successful at it. But The Who are arguably ground zero for hard rock (some even say metal), punk rock, power pop, progressive or 'art' rock, and so on.

The Who:

* "My Generation", Tommy and Who's Next in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

* The Who Sings My Generation in the US National Recording Registry.

* Leeds Refectory designated an official historical site in the UK due to Live at Leeds.

* Former site of the Marquee Club designated an historical site in the UK due to Keith Moon's first performance with The Who there.

* Kennedy Center Honors for Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend

* First ballot Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame induction (Where Ahmet Ertegun declared them "the favorite group of most of us.")

* Second year UK Music Hall of Fame induction

* Tony winner for Best Musical Score

I could go on and on: the Marshall Stack, feedback, guitar smashing, "The Best Live Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World", Monterey, Woodstock, Isle of Wight, The Concert for New York City, Glastonbury. They have a string of classic singles, classic albums, and classic performances that very few can match. I'll say less than ten.

You can quibble about the order, but name me another rock act not already in my top ten with more impressive credentials than The Who.