Sorry, Minnesota fans, the Replacements didn't make into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first appearance on the ballot. But Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt and Hall & Oates all landed in the Hall in their first time facing voters, it was announced late Monday.

Also voted in were Kiss, Cat Stevens and Peter Gabriel (who is also in the Hall as a member of Genesis).

This year's inductees prove what critics of the Hall of Fame election process have been saying for years: Put qualified nominees on the ballot and let the voters decide.

Ronstadt had been eligible since 1994 but had never been on the ballot. Similarly, Hall & Oates have been eligible since '97 but the hall's nominating committee had never put them up for a vote. An act is eligible 25 years after releasing its first record. Hence, this was Nirvana's first year of eligibility and, to no one's surprise, they got elected.

In the non-performer category, former Beatles manager Brian Epstein and former Rolling Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham were named to the Hall of Fame by a special committee.

Similarly, the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's backup group, is being honored by the committee for "musical excellence." Springsteen's first album was billed as a solo disc, thus only he was named to the Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Replacements, the Minneapolis band that bridged the gap between the punk and grunge eras, were among the nine acts on the ballot that did not receive enough votes from more than 600 critics, musicians and industry workers. The Mats were eligible in 2006 but this was their first time on the ballot.

The Hall of Fame has never been transparent about how the nominating and voting process works. More than 700 musicians, industry works and critics (including me) vote. No write-ins are allowed.

The 29th annual induction ceremonies will be April 10 in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center – the first ceremonies ever open to the public.