| Year | Image | Name | Inducted members | Prior nominations | Induction presenter |
| 1986 | | Chuck Berry | | Inaugural class | Keith Richards[N2] |
| | James Brown | Steve Winwood[N2] |
| | Ray Charles | Quincy Jones[N2] |
| | Sam Cooke | Herb Alpert[N2] |
| | Fats Domino | Billy Joel[N2] |
| | The Everly Brothers | Don Everly and Phil Everly. | Neil Young[N2] |
| | Buddy Holly | | John Fogerty[N2] |
| | Jerry Lee Lewis | Hank Williams Jr. |
| | Little Richard | Roberta Flack |
| | Elvis Presley | Julian and Sean Lennon |
| 1987 | | The Coasters | Carl Gardner, Cornell Gunter, Billy Guy, and Will "Dub" Jones. | 1 (1986) | Lester Sill |
| | Eddie Cochran | | Mick Jones[N2] |
| | Bo Diddley | ZZ Top[N2] |
| | Aretha Franklin | First nomination | Keith Richards[N2] |
| | Marvin Gaye | 1 (1986) | Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson |
| | Bill Haley | 1 (1986) | Chuck Berry[N3] |
| | King | 1 (1986) | Sting[N2] |
| | Clyde McPhatter | Ben E. King[N2] |
| | Ricky Nelson | John Fogerty[N2] |
| | Roy Orbison | Bruce Springsteen[N2] |
| | Carl Perkins | First nomination | Sam Phillips[N3] |
| | Smokey Robinson | 1 (1986) | Daryl Hall[N2] and John Oates[N2] |
| | Big Joe Turner | Doc Pomus[N2] |
| | Muddy Waters | Paul Butterfield[N2] |
| | Jackie Wilson | Peter Wolf |
| 1988 | | The Beach Boys | Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson. | First nomination; First year of eligibility | Elton John[N2] |
| | The Beatles | George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. | Mick Jagger[N2] |
| | The Drifters | Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis, Clyde McPhatter, Johnny Moore, Bill Pinkney, Charlie Thomas, and Gerhart Thrasher. | 1 (1986) | Billy Joel[N2] |
| | Bob Dylan | | First nomination; First year of eligibility | Bruce Springsteen[N2] |
| | The Supremes | Florence Ballard, Diana Ross, and Mary Wilson. | 1 (1987) | Little Richard[N3] |
| 1989 | | Dion | | 3 (1986, 1987, 1988) | Lou Reed[N2] |
| | Otis Redding | First nomination | Little Richard[N3] |
| | The Rolling Stones | Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Ian Stewart, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, and Bill Wyman. | First nomination; First year of eligibility | Pete Townshend[N2] |
| | The Temptations | Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Otis Williams, Paul Williams, and Dennis Edwards. | First nomination | Daryl Hall[N2] and John Oates[N2] |
| | Stevie Wonder | | Paul Simon[N2] |
| 1990 | | Hank Ballard | 4 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989) | Boz Scaggs |
| | Bobby Darin | Paul Anka |
| | The Four Seasons | Tom DeVito, Bob Gaudio, Nick Massi, and Frankie Valli. | 2 (1988, 1989) | Bob Crewe |
| | The Four Tops | Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Lawrence Payton, and Levi Stubbs. | 1 (1989) | Stevie Wonder[N3] |
| | The Kinks | Mick Avory, Dave Davies, Ray Davies, and Pete Quaife. | First nomination; First year of eligibility | Graham Nash[N2] |
| | The Platters | David Lynch, Herb Reed, Paul Robi, Zola Taylor, and Tony Williams. | 2 (1988, 1989) | Phil Spector[N3] |
| | Simon & Garfunkel | Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. | First nomination; First year of eligibility | James Taylor[N2] |
| | The Who | Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, and Pete Townshend. | U2[N2] |
| 1991 | | LaVern Baker | | 5 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) | Chaka Khan[N2] |
| | The Byrds | Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Roger McGuinn. | First nomination; First year of eligibility | Don Henley[N2] |
| | John Lee Hooker | | First nomination | Bonnie Raitt[N2] |
| | The Impressions | Curtis Mayfield, Sam Gooden, Fred Cash, Arthur Brooks, Richard Brooks, and Jerry Butler. | 2 (1989, 1990) | Tracy Chapman |
| | Wilson Pickett | | Bobby Brown |
| | Jimmy Reed | 5 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) | ZZ Top[N2] |