re: So NWA made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but Nine Inch Nails didn't

The HoF has inducted non-rock acts from its very inception. I view complaints against NWA as a non-rock act as a non-starter. The better case against them is that they really only had one album. They had a second, but it's a mess, so really... one great album. Even Guns n Roses has a bigger catalog. Also, if we're inducted hip hop acts, why isn't Eric B and Rakim on? Or Afrika Bambaataa, who pretty much started hip hop as we know it?

The bigger problem is that the Hall has no idea how to handle pop music post-1980. It keeps inducting second tier Boomer acts (Steve Miller? REALLY?) while it has ignored great acts of the 80s? I mean, I'm not a fan, but leaving out the Smiths is ridiculous. And if we're gonna say they weren't popular enough (like other landmark acts like Sonic Youth or the Replacements), then why not Bon Jovi? I mean, they were more successful that Steve Miller. I hate hair metal with a fiery passion, but it did exist, and probably deserves a representative band. Like Motley Crue or Def Leppard.

The Hall has no idea how to tell the story of pop music post-punk/disco revolution. Leaving out Chic as well is just absurd. They are a key band in the history of pop music, and you can trace the birth of hip hop to them. Yes, hip hop is a subgenre of disco.

Considering that EDM is now a fairly large subgenre, I think you could justify NIN or Ministry in the Hall for their influence. Or the Dust Brothers.

Who is inducted is all about politics. Theres more good bands that aren't in the hall of fame than are.

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In general, isn't pretty much everyone/group that needs to be in for awhile actually in the HOF? I would think so if we are down to debating NWA vs Nails.

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Not even close. A short list that comes to mind.
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Yes
Motörhead
Offspring (they have the shitty mainstream version of the offspring already aka Greenday)
Def Leppard
Motley Crue
Basically almost any good metal group from the 80s, yeah a lot of it was shite but still.
Ted Nugent
Hell Chicago and Deep Purple are just now being inducted.

Every time a new band gets brought into the R and R hall of fame people get pissed off that their favorite band didn't make it. Just accept that the entire concept of a R and R Hall of Fame is stupid. It makes no difference at all to me whether or not the artists that I respect make it.

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Remember when The Prodigy was supposed to be the next big thing in music? That didn't quite work out but you had Smashing Pumpkins dabbling in electronic music, David Bowie and Rob Halford both went full on industrial, and Rammstein was starting to get noticed in the underground all around this time. You can attribute all of that to NIN. Plus you had bands like KMFDM, Skinny Puppy, Pitchshifter, and a few other industrial acts get some mainstream exposure. I think Reznor had a bigger influence on the 90s than some people realize.

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+1000. Also I think you can also attribute the hybrid bands success to NIN such as Linkin Park and all those spawns in the early 2000's.

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Which had the bigger cultural impact?

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Which is "Rock and Roll"?

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That's debatable to me. Obviously NWA were huge at the time but most everyone knows "I want to frick you like an animal" as well.

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I don't give two rats arse about the rock-n-roll HOF but it's not debatable at all IMO. NWA is a monster influence on the direction rap took and pop culture in general over anything Trent's done. But it should tell you a little something about the HOF to induct a rap artist.

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Reznor pioneered the way for electronic/industrial acts

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I was really into this genre in late 80's and I disagree on the pioneering part. He was more like the most successful at it and probably most talented. Al Jourgensen was pioneering but IMO the most important figure in electronic/industrial of that day is Flood which is probably why NIN ever became popular. Go look at his list of stuff he's credited for as engineer and producer. He's worked with many influential bands he did even get credited for.. To see the progression of NIN's sound, all you have to do is look at Nitzer Ebb where it seemed Flood would experiment a little more and then hone it in on NIN and then build off that for the next Nitzer Ebb and repeat. But that electro/industrial sound some bands were experimenting with was more likely due to Flood and not Trent.

Smashing Pumpkins electro? Check out the producer. U2 made that drastic turn from Joshua Tree to Achtung, look who they brought in to mix and engineer it.

Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Cabaret Voltaire, were already known and doing their thing before NIN came around.

NWA was not a supergroup. None of those guys were stars before that.

Something tells me Trent doesn't care. Especially considering he and Dre are friends. He doesn't need acknowledgement to know how good NIN is/has been. NIN's time will come.