The most essential album from each of this year’s Rock Hall inductees (2025)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Any Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee -- whether performers or Early Influences or even Ahmet Ertegun Award non-performers -- has amassed a body of work that makes them eligible for the honor. And it’s easy to go down the proverbial rabbit hole enjoying the music they’ve created.

But we’re asking a tougher question -- what’s the single, essential recording each member of the Rock Hall’s Class of 2024 has released.

Some choices are clearer than others, but none are easy. As previously noted, you don’t (or seldom) get into the Rock Hall as a one-hit wonder. For ground rules, however, we’ve largely excluded live albums (with one noted exception) and greatest hits compilations (with another) and focused on individual albums we feel best represent each of the inductees.

It’s the kind of exercise that starts arguments, but we’re up for it. To wit...

A Tribe Called Quest: There are only six albums to consider in the Queens rap quartet’s output, though an argument can be made for most every one as the best. “Midnight Marauders,” ATCQ’s third, is the one, though; coming off the reputation-staking “The Low End Theory” two years earlier, this offered a coalescing of vocal, lyrical and production skills, a fat-free set that gave the world hip-hop classics such as “Oh My God,” “Award Tour” and “Electric Relaxation.”

Mary J. Blige: Across 14 studio albums during the past 31 years, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul has dealt with “Growing Pains,” the “Strength of a Woman,” “Love & Life” and plenty of drama. Her intense honesty is best captured on her sophomore outing, 1994′s “My Life,” an unapologetically revealing 17-song set that gave us more information than her “What’s the 411?” debut and housed enduring Blige classics such as “Be Happy,” “I’m Goin’ Down,” “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” and “You Bring Me Joy.”

Jimmy Buffett: The Margaritaville man’s best and best-known songs are sprinkled throughout his 32 studio albums, which makes picking just one a challenge -- and the seminal “Songs You Know By Heart” compilation is an easy out. Cheesy cover aside, it’s hard to pick against 1978′s “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” an easygoing singer-songwriter collection whose title track is perhaps Buffett’s best song, period, and also contains “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and the deep-cut favorite such as “Livingston Saturday Night.”

Cher: It’s fair to say that the last thing anyone expected during the late ’90s was a Cher comeback. Well, as Ted Lasso says, sometimes you just need to “Believe.” For her 1998 release, Cher’s 22nd solo set, she embraced EDM and Eurodisco styles (eight months after Madonna did the same on her “Ray of Light”) and put her voice through Auto-Tune. But that only enhanced a solid batch of songs by producers Brian Rawling and Todd Terry, and fans lapped it up to the tune of quadruple-platinum sales -- and 11 million copies of the title track single, which hit No. 1 in 21 countries. Also of note; “Believe” was dedicated to Cher’s late ex-husband and musical partner Sonny Bono, who died in a skiing accident earlier in the year.

Suzanne de Passe: She wasn’t a recording artist for Motown, but as an executive de Passe helped launch the careers of the Jackson 5, Lionel Richie and others and produced some key moments -- none better than the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” special that was filmed on March 25, 1983 and aired two months later on NBC. It remains a spirit-lifting watch from start to finish, whether it’s Michael Jackson’s performance of “Beat It” or the Temptations-Four Tops duel, and you won’t fast-forward through a second of it.

Foreigner: There are plenty of worthwhile Foreigner compilations (including the new “Turning Back the Time”). But the group’s best studio set, without question, was “4″ in 1981. Co-produced by band founder Mick Jones and Robert John “Mutt” Lange, it found Foreigner pared to a quartet and embracing new synthesizer technologies with help from a pre-fame Thomas Dolby and Larry Fast. A solid tune stack took Foreigner into ballad territory on “Waiting For a Girl Like You” and “Girl on the Moon,” but rock reigned on “Juke Box Hero,” “Break It Up” and “Urgent,” an unusually jagged arrangement that featured a saxophone solo from Motown’s Junior Walker. It topped the Billboard 200 and has been certified six-times platinum since its release.

Peter Frampton: Is there really any other choice? “Frampton Comes Alive!” (1976) his fifth solo release after leaving Humble Pie, was a phenomenon that turned the respected but under-the-radar guitarist, songwriter and singer into a bona fide pop star -- and managed to show off his considerable chops at the same time, especially when stretching out on “Lines on My Face,” “I Want to go to the Sun,” the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and, of course, the nearly 14-minute Talk Box odyssey of “Do You Feel Like We Do.” It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 10 weeks and has been certified eight-times platinum, and it launched three Top 15 singles in “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel...” It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020. We recommend finding the extended 25th or 35th anniversary editions for more of a good thing.

Kool & the Gang: The R&B troupe’s less-known, jazz- and funk-inflected early releases had a lot to recommend them, but it’s 1979′s “Ladies’ Night” that created the Gang that we, well, celebrate at the Rock Hall this week. The arrival of lead singer James “J.T.” Taylor was a game-changer, and singles such as the title track and “Too Hot” helped make this Kool & company’s first platinum release.

Alexis Korner: Early Influence honoree Korner was rightly dubbed the “founding father of British blues,” teaming with harmonica player Cyril Davies to lead Alex Korner’s Blues Incorporated during the early 60s. Scores of subsequent acts cite the troupe’s “R&B From the Marquee” (1962) as a gateway release, with Korner, Davies, saxophonist Dick Heckstall Smith, singer Long John Baldry and others introducing aspirants to the likes of Willie Dixon and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Korner and Davies’ originals.

Dave Matthews Band: Some would argue -- not incorrectly -- that like the Grateful Dead, the Charlottesville, Va. troupe is best heard live. But it fares well in the recording studio, too, and was in fact already at peak power when it released its debut set “Under the Table and Dreaming” in 1994. The singles “What Would You Say,” “Ants Marching” and “Satellite” are essential to any DMB collection, and we’d argue the same for “Typical Situation,” “Dancing Nancies,” “Warehouse” and “#34.” This is the start, but it’s definitely where anybody SHOULD start their indoctrination.

John Mayall: From a long career with scores of band lineups, collaborations and album releases, “Blues Breakers” (aka “Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton”) reigns supreme. This is where a freshly post-Yardbirds and pre-Cream Eric Clapton became God, joining Mayall, pre-Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie and drummer Hughie Flint for a combination of blues standards (including the Freddie King instrumental “Hideaway” and Clapton singing lead on Robert Johnson’s “Ramblin’ On My Mind”) and originals, with Mayall and Clapton co-writing “Double Crossing Time.” A seminal outing that’s still exciting to listen to six decades later.

MC5: It’s called “Kick Out the Jams” (1969), and that’s exactly what the Detroit group did on Halloween weekend a year prior at the city’s famed Grande Ballroom. The title track is a legendary statement of purpose, of course, but the rest of the album extols the 5′s influence as proto-punk and metal pioneers, with the creative cajones to take on everything from blues (“Motor City is Burning”) to the psychedelic free jazz excursions of Sun Ra (“Starship”).

Ozzy Osbourne: The Ozz-man rode a “Crazy Train” into a successful solo career off the bat, but we give an edge to his second album, “Diary of a Madman” (1981) Osbourne and his band -- including guitarist Randy Rhoads, a 2021 Rock Hall Musical Achievement award recipient -- were hot and locked-in from touring; the album’s first three songs alone (“Over the Mountain,” “Flying High Again,” “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll”) rank among the best openings for any rock album, ever. It was also the last representation of the Blizzard of Ozz band, with Rhoads dying five months later and Osbourne parting ways with drummer Lee Kerslake.

Big Mama Thornton: Gone 40 years now, Willie Mae Thornton staked a claim for women as more than diva-y pop wallflowers with a catalog of robust performances that began with the original recording of “Hound Dog” in 1952 -- which she took to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. It took awhile before she released her first album -- “In Europe” in 1965 -- but the set, recorded in a London studio while she was touring as part of the American Folk Blues Festival -- ably represents what made her great and features a young Buddy Guy as her guitarist.

Dionne Warwick: Best-of compilations are kind of a cop-out, but are you really going to want a Warwick album that does not include all of those great singles -- especially the ones written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David? Of course not. “The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits” (1989) contains all the essential tracks, though we’d also recommend a supplement (the same year’s “Greatest Hits: 1979-1990,” perhaps) to add some of her later favorites.

Norman Whitfield: The late Whitfield was one of Motown’s most prolific and adventurous writers and producers, key in developing the psychedelic soul sound that helped keep the label current and relevant during the late 60s and early 70s. While “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” may have been his zenith, Whitfield’s best album work was the Temptation’s 1970 set “Psychedelic Shack,” on which Whitfield continued to push both the group and the sound with lengthy side-ending tracks such as “Take a Stroll Thru Your Mind” and “Friendship Train.” It also features the group’s rendition of “War,” which was later repurposed as a hit for Edwin Starr.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions

What: The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 19, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, 1 Center Court, Cleveland. The event is sold out but verified RESALE tickets are still available at Seatgeek.com. The ceremony will be broadcast live on Disney+ with a special re-airing on January 1 on ABC and available Jan. 2 on Hulu.

Inductees: The 2024 performer inductees are Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest. The Musical Influence inductees are Big Mama Thornton and British bluesmen Alexis Korner and John Mayall.

Jimmy Buffett, the MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield are Musical Excellence inductees, and the Ahmet Ertegun Award goes to pioneering music industry executive Suzanne de Passe.

Guests, presenters and performers: The Rock Hall has said that Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Frampton, Kool & the Gang and Warwick will be performing at the ceremony. A star-studded list of other performers and presenters will also be at the show, including Julie Roberts, Jack Black, Dua Lipa, Jelly Roll, Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Chuck D, Method Man, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Mac McAnally, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Slash, Kelly Clarkson, Ella Mai, Chad Smith, Billy Idol, Wolfgang Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo, Maynard Kennan, Steve Stevens, Andrew Watt, Lucky Daye and The Roots.