From the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website on its purpose:
Also from the RaRHoF's website, this description of its origins:"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's mission is to engage, teach, and inspire through the power of rock and roll. It carries out this mission through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs."
Most music fans know that the RaRHoF inducts new members every year and there is always discussion about which bands get nominated, which bands get inducted, and why that might be. For the most part, the RaRHoF has included the most popular, commercially and critically successful bands and artists of all time. People always have opinions about whether someone should or should not have been inducted. I think opinions are often even stronger in regards to the bands who have been passed over for either induction or even a nomination to the HoF.In 1983, A small group of music industry professionals led by Atlantic Records Founder and Chairman Ahmet Ertegun and including Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner, attorney Allen Grubman, manager Jon Landau and record executives Seymour Stein, Bob Krasnow along with attorney Suzan Evans set out to establish an organization to “recognize the people who have created this music which has become the most popular music of our time.” Ertegun approached the heads of various record companies with his idea, spearheading the formation of the non-profit organization that would eventually become the Foundation.
Here is the current list (as of 2016) of inductees under the Performers category (aka the one that gets all the attention). I apologize for the improper alphabetization:
ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES (PERFORMERS)
ABBA
AC/DC
Aerosmith
Al Green
Albert King
Alice Cooper
Aretha Franklin
B.B. King
Beastie Boys
Bee Gees
Big Joe Turner
Bill Haley
Bill Withers
Billy Joel
Black Sabbath
Blondie
Bo Diddley
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley
Bob Seger
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Bobby Darin
Bobby Womack
Bonnie Raitt
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Brenda Lee
Bruce Springsteen
Buddy Guy
Buddy Holly
Buffalo Springfield
Carl Perkins
Cat Stevens
Charlie Christian
Cheap Trick
Chicago
Chuck Berry
Clyde McPhatter
Cream
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Curtis Mayfield
Darlene Love
David Bowie
Deep Purple
Del Shannon
Dion
Donna Summer
Donovan
Dr. John
Duane Eddy
Dusty Springfield
Eagles
Earth, Wind & Fire
Eddie Cochran
Elton John
Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Etta James
Fats Domino
Fleetwood Mac
Four Tops
Frank Zappa
Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
Gene Pitney
Gene Vincent
Genesis
George Harrison
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Grateful Dead
Green Day
Guns N' Roses
Hall & Oates
Hank Ballard
Heart
Ike & Tine Turner
Isaac Hayes
Jackie Wilson
Jacksone Browne
James Brown
James Taylor
Janis Joplin
Jeff Beck
Jefferson Airplane
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Reed
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
John Lee Hooker
John Lennon
John Mellencamp
Johnny Cash
Joni Mitchell
KISS
Laura Nyro
LaVern Baker
Led Zeppelin
Leonard Cohen
Linda Ronstadt
Little Anthony and the Imperials
Little Richard
Little Willie John
Lloyd Price
Lou Reed
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Madonna
Martha and the Vandellas
Marvin Gaye
Metallica
Michael Jackson
Miles Davis
Muddy Waters
N.W.A.
Neil Diamond
Neil Young
Nirvana
Otis Redding
Parliament - Funkadelic
Patti Smith
Paul McCartney
Paul Simon
Percy Sledge
Peter Gabriel
Pink Floyd
Pretenders
Prince
Public Enemy
Queen
R.E.M.
Ramones
Randy Newman
Ray Charles
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ricky Nelson
Ritchie Valens
Rod Stewart
Roy Orbison
Run D.M.C.
Rush
Ruth Brown
Sam & Dave
Sam Cooke
Santana
Sex Pistols
Simon & Garfunkel
Sly and the Family Stone
Small Faces/Faces
Smokey Robinson
Solomon Burke
Steely Dan
Steve Miller
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Stevie Wonder
Talking Heads
The (Young) Rascals
The Allman Brothers Band
The Animals
The Band
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
The Blue Caps
The Byrds
The Clash
The Coasters
The Comets
The Crickets
The Dave Clark Five
The Dells
The Doors
The Drifters
The Everly Brothers
The Famous Flames
The Flamingos
The Four Seasons
The Hollies
The Impressions
The Isley Brothers
The Jackson 5
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Kinks
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Mamas & the Papas
The Midnighters
The Miracles
The Moonglows
The O'Jays
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Platters
The Police
The Righteous Brothers
The Rolling Stones
The Ronettes
The Shirelles
The Staple Singers
The Stooges
The Supremes
The Temptations
The Velvet Underground
The Ventures
The Who
The Yardbirds
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Waitts
Traffic
U2
Van Halen
Van Morrison
Wilson Pickett
ZZ Top