I think one of the hall's main problems is they let in far too many acts each year and now are starting to see the results of that: Namely, that they are running out of sure-fire inductees, and questionable classes like this year's are what we're going to see moving forward. Another issue is that a sizable number of previous inductees probably belong in the hall's singles category, which was introduced a few years ago to honor legacy acts with one massive, influential hit ("Wild Thing," "Louie Louie," "Born to Be Wild" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale" are among the honorees). As someone pointed out a few pages ago, Richie Valens probably wrote only one notable song, but he had a biopic made of his life and that song became big again in the 1980s, so he got in. Same with Brenda Lee, whose only even remote contribution to rock and roll is "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Del Shannon has "Runaway" and what else? Do most people know any Mamas and the Papas songs beyond the two hits?
As for the Styx/Foreigner/Pat Benatar conundrum, I think that if you're gonna put Journey and Heart and Pat Benatar in the hall, you probably need to include Foreigner and Styx and REO Speedwagon, too, because I see those acts as pretty much interchangeable. Either put none of them in or all of them in. Putting some but not others in suggests either intellectual inconsistency or -- more probably -- good PR work (on behalf of those who got in).
The biggest HOF omissions, in my eyes:
Iron Maiden (metal is a hard HOF sell, but they're more creative and influential than most people realize and still putting out passably good original stuff; they also have had unkind things to say about the hall, so this will be an even harder sell; they're also far more deserving that Judas Priest, which got in this year)
The Replacements
The Smiths
Pixies
Willie Nelson (I bet he gets in next year after Dolly this year)
Smashing Pumpkins (I know Billy Corgan can be grating, and their latter-era stuff has been forgettable, but the three-album run from Gish to Mellon Collie -- with a quite-good odds 'n sods album thrown in there as well -- is unimpeachable)
Jethro Tull (hasn't put out anything remotely relevant in, oh, 45 years, but has more indelible songs from its early 70s run than a whole lot of other inductees)
