And the 1998 election begins; from where I sit, this looks to be one of the most wide-open years we've had. I honestly have no idea who'll get in.

Submit a ranked list of your ten most deserving artists. You may want to check out the top 100 eligible candidates. For a reminder of who's already been inducted, see the results thread.

For your top FIVE artists (at least), you must explain why they deserve to be in the HOA. You may recycle your comments from past elections if you wish, but I want us to have a context for WHY we're selecting these artists.

***Ballots without comments for the top five will NOT be counted!***

In addition, you have the option to nominate up to three people for the Backstage Wing. This isn't required.

Deadline for ballots is Sunday, June 14, at 6:00 pm US Central time (midnight GMT).

Voting is now open...and we're back to our one-week schedule. No lollygagging, now!

01. Elliott Smith : as announced, he is now installed in the top of my list and won't move before he is inducted. Because Either/Or is for me the best album ever released and nothing can come close.

02. DJ Shadow : Endtroducing is not only one of the few album which have revolutionnized music and not have been topped since, it is also just a bloody great album, one of my favourite ever.

03. Red Hot Chili Peppers : talking about favourite albums, BSSM is my "madeleine de Proust" and the summit of a very decent discography

04. Rage Against the Machine : Tom Morello is God (sort of)

05. Foo Fighters : I forgot them last year, Dave Grohl is the 2nd coolest guy ever and back then, they had not release any weak album yet

06. Built to Spill : Perfect from now on is the most incredible discover I have made this year, the five first tracks are, well, perfect, which an intensity I have very rarely heard, goes right to my guts.

07. Supergrass : my favourite brit-pop act, more fun than any of their competitors

08. The Chemical Brothers : my feet can not resist Setting Sun, Leave Home, Block Rockin' Beat any second (that comment won't change during the coming years, only the list of songs will grow longer and longer) and the Private Psychedelic Real is one of the classiest songs on that a musical genre.

09. Violent Femmes : why can't they get just one vote, why can't they get just one vote, I get it has something to with luck but they waited there all life for just one

10. De La Soul : should have been inducted before A Tribe Called Quest !

I haven't voted in awhile but after seeing who is not in I have to make my case and try to push some bubblers through.

1. Notorious B.I.G.- I don't think there is anybody more important to today's style of hip-hop than Biggie.

2. Jayhawks- Hopefully, we can those who were voting before for this great band back into the mix? The best alt-country band ever.

3. Aerosmith- Love them or hate them, they really did make a significant mark on hard rock whether you're talking about Tyler's singing style and flamboyance or Perry's guitar.

4. Bee Gees- Their early music is as good as baroque pop gets. Lay aside your preconcieved notions and go listen to their first three albums.

5. De La Soul- I'm not a huge fan of them but just like B.I.G. is to mainstream hip-hop, they are the same for alternative hip-hop. You can't really deny that. I assume though that they'll get in sometime if Tribe Called Quest did (although I like De La Soul much more).

I definitely will be with you on Elliott Smith but I want to gauge how well certain bands that should have been in awhile ago do first. I kind of stopped voting because my top 10 weren't getting anybody else's votes so now I guess I'm coming back to help out a cause instead of rallying behind a lost one.

1. The Notorious B.I.G - The greatest rapper of all time has now released his complete discography; unfortunately the release is posthumous.

2. The Verve - I have Bittersweet Symphony as my #3 song of the decade. Urban Hyms may or may not crack my T20.

3. Nas - C'mon, maybe one of these days? Now that Biggie is gone, NYC needs a new king. And oh, how I prefer Nas to Jay Z.

4. The Wu-Tang Clan - Great rap artist, may get in someday, maybe they wont.

5. DJ Shadow - Without Endtroducing, there would be no Kid A. That alone may or may not merit his inclusion.

6. De La Soul
7. Primal Scream
8. Eagles - Will never happen.
9. Liz Phair
10. Grateful Dead

Wu Tang is already in.

1. PETER GABRIEL - I'm giving him a big push to the top of the list. Musician / composer / video artist / world music activist / experimental performer Gabriel excelled on so many levels.
2. EAGLES - The epitome of Southern Californian country-pop/rock.
3. DEEP PURPLE - In their classic line-up they were not only Guinness' loudest band, they also contained some of the greatest musicians of their time: Blackmore, Gillan, Coverdale, Glover...
4. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - Trippy! The soundtrack of the Haight-Ashbury scene.
5. CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - In all it's combinations, CSNY was the greatest supergroup. With all the colliding characters that should come with it.
6. GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE - With all that talk what hiphop act should have got in by now, why not the true innovators, the ones that were groundbreaking both in their techniques and their lyrical content?
7. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
8. AEROSMITH
9. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
10. DE LA SOUL

Backstage:
1. ANTON CORBIJN
2. THE BELLEVILLE THREE (Atkins / Saunderson / May)
3. GERRY GOFFIN & CAROLE KING

My third special edition of HOA: electronica

Trivia from Ken Jennings, Part 3

ROUND 35

18 June, 1977: A new after-hours club in Chicago's Southside open its doors, The Warehouse, with Frankie Knuckles as resident DJ, mixing old disco classic and new Eurobeat pop. Some years later this club gave name to House, the most relevant style of electronic dance music.

A lot of different styles derived from house from the middle 80s, being the predominant sounds of the second half of the 90s. Name the band / artist that can be considered the fathers or the main exponent of the following dance music styles:
a. Big Beat
b. Detroit Techno
c. Trip-Hop
d. IDM (Intelligent Dance Music)
e. Chill-Out (and Stadium-House too!)
f. Ambient Techno
g. Rave
h. Experimental Hip-Hop
i. Jungle
j. Progressive House

Don't bother to answer it. I'll give you the results taken from Ken Jennings book:


01 (e). THE KLF: a brief but intense and shining career that began as some kind of terrorists of house, vindicating the sample as an art and burning 500 copies of his debut album (and selling the five copies left for £1000) and ended a mere five years later refusing to record new material until world peace reigned. But in the middle they created two new (and almost opposite) styles: the frantic stadium-house, reaching #1 with 1991's "The White Room" and the peaceful chill-out, largely influential.
My favourite album: Chill Out (1990).
My Top 3 Songs: What Time Is Love? (1990), Madrugada Eterna (1990), 3 A.M. Eternal (1991).

02 (h). DJ SHADOW: the master of cut’n’paste, shaking the instrumental basis of hip hop like no one before. Josh Davis created outsanding new material from samples meticulously connected and imaginatively designed. His technique, his vast music knowledge and his ability of integrating so many different music styles is truly amazing.
My favourite album: Endtroducing… (1996).
My favourite song: Midnight in a Perfect World (1996).

03 (d). APHEX TWIN: while the original house was designed to dance some people like Richard D. James took the experimental possibilities of the style so further that created a new style bordering ambient music and avant-garde.
My favourite album: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992).
My favourite song: On (1993).

04 (b). RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM / DERRICK MAY: I could have chosen any other of the Belleville Three, the pioneers of Detroit techno, the result of the sum of funk + Kraftwerk + Sci-Fi. But I'm going for "Innovator", if only for the irresistible piano beat of "Strings of Life".
My favourite album: Innovator. Soundtrack for the Tenth Planet (1991).
My favourite song: Strings of Life (1987).

05 (j). DAFT PUNK: we can't consider probably the music manufactured by this French duo as "intelligent" techno but surely they would prefer to be called exciting, fresh, funny and, yes, danceable.
My favourite album: Homework (1997).
My favourite song: Da Funk (1995).

06 (a). THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS: techno for rock fans, big beats infallible on dance floors and rock festivals, brit-hop.
My favourite album: Dig Your Own Hole (1997).
My favourite song: Block Rockin’ Beats (1997).

07 (c). TRICKY: with Massive Attack and Portishead already inducted there's still an outstanding artist to represent in this list the smoky sound of Bristol.
My favourite album: Maxinquaye (1995).
My favourite song: Aftermath (1994).

08 (f). ORBITAL: the Hartnoll brothers are responsible (along with other "chemical" brothers) of bringing techno to rock festivals. Now every festival has a marquee with dance music till dawn.
My favourite album: Orbital (1993).
My favourite song: Halcyon (1992).

09 (g). THE PRODIGY: while many dance artists hide behind their turntables and synths (even Daft Punk hide their faces) The Prodigy take image to the spot counting with the shocking look of Keith Flint.
My favourite album: The Fat of the Land (1997).
My favourite song: Smack My Bitch Up (1997).

10 (i). GOLDIE: jungle is possibly one of the most extreme styles of dance music right now, with fast and intricate polyrhythms. And Goldie is probably its best practitioner.
My favourite album: Timeless (1995).
My favourite song: Innercity Life (1994).

And at the backstage:
01. LARRY LEVAN: from the mythical NY club Paradise Garage he was one of the first DJs to achieve a status similar as a pop star.
02. FRANKIE KNUCKELS: when Levan refused an offer from a new Chicago club, the Warehouse, a childhood friend of him took his place and created a new style mixing disco music and electronic beats, house music.
03. THE BELLEVILLE THREE: not sure if they belong to the backstage, the three of them are brilliant artists themselves, Juan "Originator" Atkins, Derrick "Innovator" May y Kevin "Elevator" Saunderson, but they deserve induction (in backstage or in "frontstage") for their role as pioneers.

yeah, talkin' about the 1990's again... that's more like I remember them +/and inside of all those smug mugs like me craving me for the next trout mask, the Glitch did his first all absorbing baretooth bytes as well... nice one, DJ Hon..

It feels strange to have one of my entries inducted!

1. Eurythmics- Holding strong, as they will until the end, if necessary! If their musical wizardry and legend was based on guitars instead of synths, they'd be in by now. I defy those of you not voting for them to listen to "This City Never Sleeps" and reconsider!

2. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Oh dear. I just picked up their B-sides collection. The madness continues...

3. Janet Jackson- The Velvet Rope was such a risky, yet rewarding offering from Ms. Jackson. Written and recorded during some dark days of her then-secret marriage, it captures her inner turmoil so well, yet still casts her as the sweet optimist she is.

4. Can- They seem stuck in the soul, soul desert.

5. Grace Jones- Pleased to have you on my plate.

6. Donna Summer

7. Aerosmith

8. Joan Jett

9. Kim Wilde

10. Gary Numan

1. JESUS AND MARY CHAIN. Top 5 on the eligibles list: Eagles, Dead, Primal Scream, Aerosmith, the Mary Chain. I might get around to Primal Scream and Aerosmith at some point…
2. NINE INCH NAILS. Of all 90s acts, only Nirvana is more likely to be advertised on a T-shirt worn by someone too young to have heard the music when it first came out.
3. DE LA SOUL. What Nassim said.
4. LIZ PHAIR. I admit it—it’s possible that my crush on her is affecting this vote. What, you think only Moonbeam does that?
5. JEFF BUCKLEY. Too much alleged indie music now sounds like Mr. Buckley. Accept no substitutes—Grace is the real deal.
6. CAN
7. THE VERVE
8. WIRE. With some pain, I’ve dropped the Buzzcocks as a lost cause…but the more I think about it, Wire is probably the more deserving band of that generation. More proof (see also Can, above), that I’m turning into Harold Wexler…well, except for the Dolls thing.
9. PETER GABRIEL
10. JAYHAWKS. I’ve been waiting for Wilco to give the genre some love, but I might as well jump on this bandwagon. Very good band.

1. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS - If I could assign one band to make the soundtrack of my life, I'd choose They Might Be Giants.

2. DANIEL JOHNSTON - One of the most excellent songsmiths on the face of the earth. Luckily he was discovered.

3. LOVE - Next year they might get some more weirdos with them on my ballot. I've been listening to weird music lately, but Love is still the best.

4. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - There's a lot of strange things going on here. They're so far out, they're on their way in again.

5. MANIC STREET PREACHERS - It's like two bands in one. One with and one without Richey Edwards. Both are great.

6. RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON
7. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
8. VIOLENT FEMMES
9. OS MUTANTES
10. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN

1. The Notorious B.I.G. - truly a legend; that brooklyn bullshit, we on it
2. Nas - still rap's best mc
3. Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon) - still rap's strangest mc
4. Gang Starr - dj premier & the king of the monotone
5. Mobb Deep - more great streets rap outta queensbridge
6. Ice Cube
7. Eric B & Rakim
8. The Blue Nile
9. Warren Zevon
10. Dwight Yoakam

backstage

1. Larry Levan
2. David Mancuso
3. Tom Moulton

Yeah Greg, way to get Biggie in there! Next year we'll try for Nas.

amen, SR. (glad you're back, john!)

1. Elliott Smith – Quite simply, one of the most gifted songwriters who ever lived. The deep, sometimes-borderline self-parodic melancholy of his lyrics (“when they clean the street/I’ll be the only shit that’s left behind,” indeed) suggests a worldview that’s belied by the creative joy inherent in his effortlessly, endlessly inventive melodies; his early exit indicates that unfortunately the former won out in his own mind, but the uncommonly rich legacy of Smith’s music will live forever.

2. New York Dolls – They only made two albums, but they’re one of the all-time great bands, and their influence is huge.

3. Ornette Coleman – A true visionary who, unlike far too many of his contemporaries, lasted long enough to become a living legend. Long overdue for induction!

4. Love – As we start to enter the homestretch of this HOA exercise it’s time to try to elevate our favorite overlooked cult heroes into the pantheon, Arthur Lee (R.I.P.) and his ramshackle band of fellow late 60s L.A. weirdos being a prime example.

5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – T.P.’s been around for over 30 years for a reason, and he deserves recognition – as do guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboard maestro Benmont Tench, who’ve been with him since before the beginning and are two of the greatest collaborators anyone could hope for.

6. Nine Inch Nails
7. Peter Gabriel
8. Wire
9. Can
10. Sonny Rollins

BACKSTAGE WING
1. Nicky Hopkins
2. Michel Gondry
3. Greil Marcus

Henrik, aren’t you going to vote this week? I'm curious about who’s gonna take your 10 points! Eurhythmics? KLF? I’m not sure but any of them could probably get in…

1. 2Pac; 2. Notorious B.I.G. - I truly think that my current top two are among the greatest rappers ever. Inextricably linked in life and death, this year they released the two greatest posthumous albums ever. Forget Cobain vs. Vedder, Gallagher vs. Albarn, this is the greatest musical rivalry of the '90s.

3. Daft Punk - The sound of the future today, DP have a great (and often-underestimated) influence and inspired a lot of copycats and established house as the discothèque style of choice.

4. Soundgarden

5. Jeff Buckley

6. Rage Against the Machine

7. Weezer

8. Nas

9. Foo Fighters - Who would have guessed that the drummer for grunge's biggest band would make such a poppy songwriter? And a damn good one at that.

10. The Verve - "Bittersweet Symphony" is the greatest sample ever. Period.

Entering the week's game at this late stage, it's very tempting to count points, but I promise I haven't (just had a quick glance...).

1. Eurythmics
2. The KLF
Well Honorio, I thought a lot about who would be my number one and I finally realised that Eurythmics are more deserving, since Drummond and Caughty have not achieved world peace yet.

3. Peter Gabriel
With Scott Walker in HOA, let's vote in another artist with an impressive I-IV album suite.

4. Rage Against the Machine
I'm not sure how the rest of my "top 5 albums that rock the most" list would look, but RATM's debut would definitely be in it.

5. Low
I have totally forgotten Low in my previous ballots! They are my true number ones (I'm just gambling a little with the top 4). They are the kings of slowcore which is a genre my ears LOVE. If I could decide, there would be a dozen slowcore bands for every shoegaze band (a similar genre that I for some reason don't really get).

6. Nat "King" Cole
I'm probably a bigger fan of vocal jazz than of instrumental jazz, but for some reason I have never listened to Nat "King" Cole other than his most famous songs. But this week I listened to "Love Is the Thing" and "After Midnight" for the first time, for the moderately acclaimed albums poll. Absolutely stunning albums - they went straight up to places 2 and 7! If anyone tried to get Cole in HOA in the early days of this game, I'm finally here to help now.

7. Wire
This band grows on me every time I listen to them.

8. The Prodigy
Pump up the volume!

9. Richard and Linda Thompson
They will soon top my 1974 list.

10. The Jayhawks
I agree, this is alt-country's finest.

Super Furry Animals are not quite there yet, although this past year's Radiator is great.

Elliot Smith doesn't get a vote from me until XO. Built to Spill until Keep It Like a Secret. Daft Punk until Discovery.

Bands not typically part of the discussion that I am trying not to be embarrassed about thinking for voting for in coming years: Ben Folds (Five), the Cardigans, Soul Coughing, Imperial Teen. How much should those personal favorite groups enter into the discussion, when they have little hope of getting votes?

1. Yo La Tengo - And it all comes together this year with I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One. Ira Kaplan proudly wears his self-consciousness about the respect and love he holds for the wide spectrum of rock and popular music. It permeates their music musically and lyrically (not to mention in their frequent cover versions (see Fakebook)). But Ira and Georgia also touchingly display their love for each other in their music, and somehow it is not cloying, but comfortable and inspiring.

2. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) - I realize that this is not a shared sentiment, but give me their rough hewn but beautiful harmonies (also the Band's) before the Beach Boys'.

3. Stereolab - Dots and Loops solidifies an an incredible set of albums and singles. Their "space age bachelor pad music" is unique in the world of popular music at this point. Metronomic and driving, yet somehow whimsical and airy at the same time.

4. Cassandra Wilson - I can't believe I forgot to vote for her up until now. The greatest jazz singer of the past quarter century. A singular interpreter of blues and both older and poular standards.

5. They Might Be Giants - Excellent musicians and songwriters who have no need for keeping up with what is most "now" in music.

6. Peter Gabriel - A very strong songbook.

7. The Grateful Dead - Overrated (by some) as musicians, but very underrated as songwriters.

8. Liz Phair

9. Tricky

10. Weezer

Backstage:
It's not time yet for Michel Gondry, even though he released his second greatest work of all time (behind Eternal Sunshine...), Cibo Matto's "Sugar Water."

1. Stephen Sondheim - I still struggle to reconcile his sins (many of which can simply be chalked up as: "that's musical theater... you take the good with the bad") with his patent and groundbreaking genius.

2. Chris Lombardi/Gerald Cosloy -- Principals of Matador Records - Thank them for this year's I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, Brighten the Corners, Lazy Line Painter Jane in the US, Mag Earwhig!.

3. Michel Gondry - The greatest music video director of all time has his breakthrough year: Daft Punk's "Around the World," Foo Fighter's "Everlong," Bjork's "Joga" and "Bachelorette," Beck's "Deadweight."

Backstage I'm voting for Ry Cooder, for all his music discoveries and collaborations around the world. His latest project, Buena Vista Social Club, is definitely a crowning achievement.

1. Robert WYATT made his second best album in 1997 with the great Shleep. The 1974 year chart may help him score a few points, at least next time ? Please have a look into this great singer, songwriter and musician.
2. The DIVINE COMEDY issued a charming EP called "A Short Album About Love"
3. Dick ANNEGARN made his comeback in 1997 and was considered as a spiritual father for the whole "nouvelle chanson française" movement
4. EAGLES
5. BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB : no latin artist in the HOA ? Are you kidding ?
6. A Tribe Called Quest
7. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
8. Ron Sexsmith
9. The Jayhawks
10. Deep Purple

Backstage : 1.Ry COODER (good idea, but he should be in as an artist as well)
2. DJ Matt Black & Jonathan Moore, aka Coldcut, founders of the great Ninja Tune label