Do The GRAMMYs Get Album of the Year Right?

Photo by Kevin Mazur from Getty Images

Last week, I begun my GRAMMYs album of the year listen through, where I listen to all of the nominees and put them into tiers of how I’d feel about each winning.

After all, the GRAMMYs are less than a month away.

Usually, however, they pick against my opinions.

And so that got me wondering.

How often (in my opinion) do they get the album of the year correct and, if they don’t, how egregious is the miss?

So I went back to the 2000 GRAMMY Awards and will list all the winners, who should have won, and how big of an error it was.

The error scale will be from 1 to 5, 1 being “not that big of a deal” and 5 being “absolute disaster.”

If you disagree with my opinions, that’s fine! Music is subjective! But please let me know how much you disagree with it by commenting to me in Greek.

That’s the only way I’ll acknowledge your complaints.

Let’s get to it.

2000 Winner: “Supernatural” by Santana

What Should Have Won: “Supernatural” by Santana

Supernatural is an really good album, and I don’t think anyone needs a reminder that Carlos Santana is an excellent guitarist.

Realistically, this was the best choice.

An honorable mention to Millennium by The Backstreet Boys, which has some absolutely iconic hits, but couldn’t hold up as an overall album.

2001 Winner: “Two Against Nature” by Steely Dan

What Should Have Won: “Two Against Nature” by Steely Dan

Yacht Rock legends release their first album in 20 years and it’s this good?

There was no other possible pick here.

An honorable mention to Kid A by Radiohead. It’s a very good album that, in any other year, would be the rightful winner of Album of the Year.

But c’mon.

Steely Dan.

And this isn’t the last time that will happen…

2002 Winner: “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” - Soundtrack

What Should Have Won: “Stankonia” by Outkast

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is an excellent movie, with an excellent soundtrack.

I love a good soundtrack. I can appreciate score and music in any movie.

But a soundtrack? For album of the year?

Meanwhile, Outkast combines hip hop, r&b, and funk in one of the most iconic album of the 2000s.

This one should have been a no brainer.

Level of Egregiousness: 5 out of 5

Don’t give AOTY to movie soundtracks.

2003 Winner: “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones

What Should Have Won: “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones

Fun fact, I used to absolutely hate Norah Jones.

I mean, I was 8 years old, and she was slow moody folky jazz music.

Yawn.

But now, I’m older.

I appreciate more genres of music more and more.

I came to really appreciate not only that style, but Norah Jones specifically.

She’s really good.

Well, that, and the other options weren’t really that good.

They can’t all be winners.

2004 Winner: “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” by Outkast

What Should Have Won: “Under Construction” by Missy Elliott

Oh man.

This is a tough one.

I love love love love LOVE the Outkast double album.

I think it is absolutely amazing.

However, I have to be consistent with my beliefs.

And, even though I love the double album, it’s a double album.

It seems a bit unfair for an album that’s actually two albums to win Album of the Year.

That, and it’s loooong.

Really long.

Almost two hours long.

Meanwhile, one of, if not the best female rapper ever, drops a classic.

I give the edge to Missy.

Level of Egregiousness: 1 out of 5

Outkast absolutely deserved it. I’m just picky about absurdly long albums.

2005 Winner: “Genius Loves Company” by Ray Charles

What Should Have Won: “College Dropout” by Kanye West

There’s really no way to say this without sounding harsh, but the posthumous album always gets a bit of a boost.

This Ray Charles album is good, but it’s far from his best, and it definitely wasn’t the best of the year.

But it came out right after Ray had passed away, so it’s more emotional for people, and that makes people have much more of a soft spot for it.

But this was going up against American Idiot by Green Day, an iconic pop punk album, and College Dropout, one of the greatest debut albums of all time.

Hard to make sense of this one.

Level of Egregiousness: 4 out of 5

It’d be more understandable if there weren’t certified classics in this category.

2006 Winner: “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” by U2

What Should Have Won: “Late Registration” by Kanye West

Look look look.

I know.

Kanye West is a bad person.

Buuuuuuuut in the mid 2000s the man made some absolutely excellent music!

Not my fault!

Dropping this right after College Dropout too was unreal.

Level of Egregiousness: 4 out of 5

The U2 album doesn’t even teach you how to dismantle an atomic bomb.

False advertising.

2007 Winner: “Taking the Long Way” by Dixie Chicks

What Should Have Won: “Taking the Long Way” by Dixie Chicks

A push back album to all the hate they got for being country singers and anti Bush Administration?

This album is not only good, but it took some courage to do, especially because it was basically the last album the Chicks had as a mainstream act.

Good way to go out, to be honest.

2008 Winner: “River: The Joni Letters” by Herbie Hancock

What Should Have Won: “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse

A cover album won Album of the Year over Back to Black by Winehouse and Graduation by Kanye West?

No.

Just no.

Level of Egregiousness: 5 out of 5

I like Joni Mitchell.

No cover albums.

2009 Winner: “Raising Sand” by Robert Plant & Alison Kraus

What Should Have Won: “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” by Coldplay

Coldplay gets a lot of hate that, I personally, think is unnecessary.

Maybe some newer stuff, but Viva la Vida was their best album, and a genuinely good one.

And yeah, I do think it’s better than In Rainbows and Tha Carter III. Is that wrong of me?

Probably, but if you weren’t paying attention and didn’t yell at me in Greek, then I won’t hear it!

Level of Egregiousness: 1 out of 5

It’s not that bad of a pick. I just really like that Coldplay album.

2010 Winner: “Fearless” by Taylor Swift

What Should Have Won: “I Am…Sasha Fierce” by Beyonce"

This is less about Taylor Swift and more about the fact that Beyonce, despite winning more GRAMMYs than anyone else, has never won Album of the Year.

If any one of her albums should have, it’s this one.

Maybe 2025 will be her year (I’m predicting it will be).

Level of Egregiousness: 2 out of 5

2011 Winner: “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire"

What Should Have Won: “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry

Going through the list, this was the one that surprised me the most in terms of how I felt.

I’d say Indie is one of my favorite genres, and The Suburbs is a great Indie album.

So it’s weird that I prefer Teenage Dream.

But I really do.

Everybody loves a classic pop banger that everyone knows the words to, and Teenage Dream has “Teenage Dream,” “Last Friday Night,” “California Gurls,” and “The One That Got Away.”

Some of the most iconic pop songs of the 2010s are on this one album.

What’s not to love?

Level of Egregiousness: 3 out of 5

2012 Winner: “21” by Adele

What Should Have Won: “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga

It’s weird to remember, but acceptance of homosexuality was far from the norm not that long ago.

Lady Gaga has always been a proud ally, and Born This Way was a public show of support by one of the most famous pop stars on the planet.

Not many were doing this.

It also doesn’t hurt that the songs rule.

Level of Egregiousness: 3 out of 5

2013 Winner: “Babel” by Mumford & Sons

What Should Have Won: “Babel” by Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons aren’t everyone’s favorite.

And this album beat Channel Orange by Frank Ocean, which is seen as particularly upsetting.

But indie folk was huge in this time, and Babel did a great job intertwining it with more of a modern sound.

Also, I don’t really like Frank Ocean much.

I would have also picked El Camino by The Black Keys over Ocean’s album too!

Remember, Greek.

2014 Winner: “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk

What Should Have Won: “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk

Remember the Steely Dan thing from earlier?

A band coming out of nowhere, dropping a banger, and deserving the praise it gets?

The same goes here with Daft Punk.

A very honorable mention to Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, but Daft Punk deserves the award here.

2015 Winner: “Morning Phase” by Beck"

What Should Have Won: “Beyonce” by Beyonce

This wasn’t a great year for Album of the Year nominees, but once again, Beyonce deserves one.

This would’ve been a good year to give it to her, even if it isn’t her best.

It could be her “Leonardo Dicaprio’s ‘Revenant’” moment.

Level of Egregiousness: 3 out of 5

2016 Winner: “1989” by Taylor Swift

What Should Have Won: “To Pimp A Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar

Fun fact: 1989 is far and away my favorite Taylor Swift album.

I love it.

Another fun fact: I think To Pimp A Butterfly is the greatest album of the 21st century.

So this has nothing to do with Taylor, but everything to do with Kendrick.

Level of Egregiousness: 4 out of 5

I’m sorry, but it’s a hip hop album with jazz and funk that flows together flawlessly and culminates in him talking to Tupac.

It’s a full experience.

2017 Winner: “25” by Adele

What Should Have Won: “Purpose” by Justin Bieber

Adele’s album was great, but Bieber’s was not only full of excellent hits, but the first real “grown up” album he made.

It gave me a lot of hope about the rest of his music career.

Alas…

Level of Egregiousness: 1 out of 5

Adele deserves it. I just liked Bieber’s more.

2018 Winner: “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars

What Should Have Won: “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars

Cover albums do not deserve Album of the Year.

However, albums that take samples from 90s music and modernizes it to the current era sure does.

Mars and Mark Ronson rode the line perfectly and made a fantastic album.

2019 Winner: “Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves

What Should Have Won: “Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves

At the time, I said Dirty Computer by Janele Monae should have won, and I do still love that album.

But the more time that passes, the more I appreciate Golden Hour.

I feel that “pop country” gets a bad reputation these days, and it’s probably deserved, but this album is the perfect combination of both.

It’s really beautiful.

2020 Winner: “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” by Billie Eilish

What Should Have Won: “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” by Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish’s debut album was a hip hop influenced dark pop album.

It was good, it was a little weird, sometimes a bit scary, but definitely left a lasting impression.

It was the creation of a superstar.

2021 Winner: “Folklore” by Taylor Swift

What Should Have Won: “Future Nostalgia” by Dua Lipa

Once again, a Taylor Swift album I really like happens to compete against an album I absolutely love.

Both had their places in the COVID era.

Taylor’s fit the vibe many of us felt.

Stuck at home, isolated, away from it all.

Dua’s was a great excuse to hop in your car, drive around for no reason with the windows down and blast some music.

Both are great, but I had more fun with the latter.

Level of Egregiousness: 2 out of 5

2022 Winner: “We Are” by Jon Baptiste

What Should Have Won: “Evermore” by Taylor Swift/”Sour” by Olivia Rodrigo

We Are was good, but if you give Folklore Album of the Year the year before, and Evermore is more or less the same sort of album, how does that not win?

And if it being too similar to Folklore turns you away, then Sour was right there as well.

I didn’t even mention Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish!

Level of Egregiousness: 5 out of 5

Flat out wrong.

2023 Winner: “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles

What Should Have Won: “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” by Kendrick Lamar

I loved the Harry Styles album, and appreciated that it felt very much like a bunch of different songs that influenced him and different styles.

That’s all great, but I prefer the Lamar album that had a bit more cohesion to it and felt like it flowed together nicely.

Still, there have been far worse mistakes than this.

Level of Egregiousness: 1 out of 5

2024 Winner: “Midnights” by Taylor Swift

What Should Have Won: “Guts” by Olivia Rodrigo"

Midnights felt like Taylor going back to her pure pop roots, similar to 1989 and Lover, but those two still hold up better than Midnights in my opinion.

Meanwhile, Guts felt like Rodrigo growing her 2000’s influence into the modern era.

Level of Egregiousness: 2 out of 5

So, what are the underlying stats?

Of the 25 years listed, the GRAMMYs have gotten it right 9 times in my opinion.

That’s a success rate of 36%.

Does this mean anything?

Not really.

But if it had to, it can mean to not let awards that are voted on by people you don’t know dictate your love for music.

Whether you feel your album got snubbed or not, it doesn’t mean it goes away forever.

Music is what you make it.

And for me, it might make Greek Taylor Swift fans really mad at me…