Axl Rose, lead singer of “Guns N' Roses,” performs in the United Arab Emirates. The group has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

NEW YORK — Welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Guns N’ Roses.

The seminal rock band of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, best known for hits like “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “November Rain,” leads the 2012 class of inductees announced today. Also making the cut are the hip-hop trio Beastie Boys; rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro; Donovan; and influential British rock group The Small Faces/The Faces, which included Rod Stewart and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.

Nyro, who wrote such hits the 5th Dimension’s “Wedding Bell Blues” and Blood Sweat & Tears’ “When I Die,” is the only female act to make it this time around. The hall passed on Donna Summer, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart and Rufus with Chaka Khan.

But it wasn’t just women who were denied entry into the rock hall for next year. Voters also passed on hip-hop pioneers Eric B. & Rakim, War, the Cure and the Spinners.

Guns N’ Roses blazed on the rock scene in 1987 with their official debut, “Appetite for Destruction.” Fronted by siren-voiced singer Axl Rose, with Slash and Izzy Stradlin on guitars, Duff McKagan on bass and Steven Adler on drums, the group dominated music with its aggressive rock grooves.

Early in their career they were criticized for lyrics in the song “One in a Million” deemed as homophobic, misogynistic and racist. They were also defined by their dysfunction, gleefully embodying the mantra of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Their trajectory was the opposite of the Chili Peppers. Despite troubles that included the drug-related death of guitarist Hillel Slovak and the departure of guitarist John Frusciante, the band, fronted by Anthony Kiedis, with Flea on bass, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, released its 10th album, “I’m With You,” this year.

The Beastie Boys are among the pioneers of rap. The first white act to make real inroads in the emerging genre, they were known initially for boorish party music, but would develop into a group critically acclaimed for its music.