Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces 19 Possible Inductees, Including Tupac, Pearl Jam and Janet Jackson

CLEVELAND, OH — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the possible inductees for the Class of 2017. The list includes: Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra, Jane's Addiction, Janet Jackson, Journey, the Cars, the Zombies, Yes, Bad Brains, Chaka Khan, Chic, J. Geils Band, Joan Baez, Joe Tex, Kraftwerk, MC5 and Steppenwolf. Nine of this year's nominees are nominated for the first time.

To be eligible for induction this year, the act's first album had to have been released in 1991 or earlier.

Fans will have an opportunity to vote on each candidate. The top vote recipients will be announced in December and then celebrated at an induction ceremony at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York, in April. To vote, visit the Rock Hall's website.

Chic has now been nominated 11 times, more than any other act in the history of the hall. Nine Inch Nails and the Smiths, who were nominated the past two years, were not nominated this year.

Fan reaction on Twitter to this year's nominees was predictably mixed:

Last year's class courted controversy when it included no women and Steve Miller went on a backstage tirade ripping the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, calling the induction process "unpleasant." Miller vented his frustration with his induction to the New York Times.

"When they told me I was inducted they said, ‘You have two tickets—one for your wife and one for yourself. Want another one? It’s $10,000. Sorry, that’s the way it goes.’ What about my band? What about their wives?"

You can see the official nominee announcement below.

Pearl Jam photo from deep_schismic