1959-1965: Skipping ahead. The Grammys did not acknowledge the rock ‘n’ soul era during these years. The Beatles were nominated for Help! in 1966.
1966: Frank Sinatra, September of My Years = Various Artists, The Sound of Music
1967: Frank Sinatra, A Man and His Music <<<<< The Beatles, Revolver
1968: The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
1969: Glen Campbell, By the Time I Get to Phoenix (shrugs)
1970: Blood Sweat & Tears, Blood Sweat and Tears <<<<< The Beatles, Abbey Road
1971: Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water
1972: Carole King, Tapestry = Isaac Hayes, Shaft
1973: The Concert for Bangladesh <<<<< Nilsson, Nilsson Schmilsson
1974: Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
1975: Stevie Wonder, Fulfillingess’ First Finale = Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark
1976: Paul Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years (shrugs)
1977: Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
1978: Fleetwood Mac, Rumours = Steely Dan, Aja; The Eagles, Hotel California
1979: Saturday Night Fever
1980: Billy Joel, 52nd Street (shrugs)
1981: Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross (shrugs)
1982: John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Double Fantasy (shrugs — but fuck, this was two years after John Lennon was assassinated, so it gets a pass)
1983: Toto, Toto IV (shrugs)
1984: Michael Jackson, Thriller
1985: Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down <<<<< Prince, Purple Rain; Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A.
1986: Phil Collins, No Jacket Required (shrugs)
1987: Paul Simon, Graceland = Janet Jackson, Control; Peter Gabriel, So
1988: U2, The Joshua Tree = Prince, Sign O’ The Times
1989: George Michael, Faith
1990: Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time (shrugs)
1991: Quincy Jones, Back on the Block (shrugs)
1992: Natalie Cole, Unforgettable…With Love <<<<< R.E.M., Out of Time
1993: Eric Clapton, Unplugged <<<<< U2, Achtung Baby
1994: The Bodyguard soundtrack (shrugs)
1995: Tony Bennett, MTV Unplugged (shrugs)
1996: Alanis Morrissette, Jagged Little Pill
1997: Celine Dion, Falling Into You <<<<< Beck, Odelay; Fugees, The Score
1998: Bob Dylan, Time out of Mind <<<<< Radiohead, OK Computer (but hey, it’s Bob Dylan)
1999: Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
2000: Santana, Supernatural (shrugs)
2001: Steely Dan, Two Against Nature <<<<< Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP; Radiohead, Kid A
2002: O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack = OutKast, Stankonia (being generous here)
2003: Norah Jones, Come Away With Me = Eminem, The Eminem Show
2004: OutKast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below = The White Stripes, Elephant; Missy Elliott, Under Construction
2005: Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company <<<<< Green Day, American Idiot; Usher, Confessions
2006: U2, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb <<<<< Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi; Kanye West, Late Registration
2007: Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way <<<<< Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds
2008: Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters <<<<< Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
2009: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand <<<<< Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2010: Taylor Swift, Fearless = Lady Gaga, The Fame; Beyoncé, I Am…Sasha Fierce
2011: Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
2012: Adele, 21
2013: Mumford & Suns, Babel <<<<< Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE
2014: Daft Punk, Random Access Memories = Kendrick Lamar, good kid, MAAD city
2015: Beck, Morning Phase <<<<< Beyoncé, Beyoncé
2016: Taylor Swift, 1989 <<<<< Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
2017: Adele, 25 <<<<< Beyoncé, Lemonade
2018: Bruno Mars, 24K Magic <<<<< Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
2019: Kacey Musgraves, The Golden Hour = Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy
2020: Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? = Lana Del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell!
2021: Taylor Swift, Folklore (shrugs)
2022: Jon Batiste, We Are <<<<< Olivia Rodrigo, Sour
2023: Harry Styles, Harry’s House <<<<< Beyoncé, Renaissance
(shrugs): Underwhelming slate of candidates. Next year, do better.
=: Other candidates were as equally deserving as the winner.
<<<<<: Shouldn’t have won.
Originally published on criticalminded.com. This post has been updated.
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