The Rock Hall has been rebuked over the years for what critics say is its lack of diversity and its hewing to conservative notions of classic rock. Five of the nominees this year are acts led by women, while six prominently feature nonwhite performers.

Artists become eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first recording and are selected for the shortlist by a nominating committee. A voting body of about 900 artists, historians and music industry figures then casts ballots; the inductees — usually about five — will be announced in December.

Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine are each nominated in their first year of eligibility, having put out commercial work in 1992. Those bands also follow a spate of inductions for the leading rock groups of the MTV ’90s, including Guns N’ Roses (2012), Nirvana (2014), Green Day (2015) and Pearl Jam (2017). Ms. Simone, nominated posthumously for the first time, on the other hand, has been eligible since 1986; her modern profile has been raised of late with the release of a documentary, “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” in 2015, and a feature film, “Nina,” starring Zoe Saldana, last year.

Though Radiohead’s odds for induction seem strong — longevity, influence and innovation are all considered — members of the band expressed some ambivalence about the hall of fame in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year. “I don’t care,” the guitarist Jonny Greenwood said. Ed O’Brien added, “It seems very showbiz.” And Thom Yorke said, “It wouldn’t be the first place …” before stopping himself. “I always put my foot in my mouth,” he said.