Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
the record by boygenius is the most recent recipient
Awarded forQuality albums in the alternative genre
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded1991
Currently held byboygenius — The Record (2024)
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards.[1] Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2] In 2023, it was joined by a companion category, Best Alternative Music Performance.[3]

Criteria

While the definition of "alternative" has been debated,[4] the award was first presented in 1991 to recognize non-mainstream rock albums "heavily played on college radio stations".[5][6] After several updates of the category description, the Grammy organisation issued the following statement for the 2019 Grammy season:

Alternative is defined as a genre of music that embraces attributes of progression and innovation in both the music and attitudes associated with it. It is often a less intense version of rock or a more intense version of pop and is typically regarded as more original, eclectic, or musically challenging. It may embrace a variety of subgenres or any hybrids thereof and may include recordings that don't fit into other genre categories.

History

In 1991, and from 1994 to 1999, the award was known as Best Alternative Music Performance.[4] The award goes to the artist, producer and engineer/mixer, provided they were credited with more than 50% of playing time on the album. A producer or engineer with less than 50% of playing time, as well as the mastering engineer, can apply for a Winners Certificate.[7]

As of 2022, Radiohead, The White Stripes, and Beck share the record for the most wins in this category, having won three times each. Three female solo artists have won the award, Sinéad O'Connor, St. Vincent, and Fiona Apple; two bands with female members, The White Stripes and Alabama Shakes, have also won the award, as well as two all-female bands, Wet Leg and Boygenius. With nine nominations to date, Björk holds the record for the most nominations in this category; Radiohead singer Thom Yorke was nominated for the 2007 and 2020 awards for his solo albums, making him the most nominated person in this category with 10 total nominations. Björk holds the record for the most nominations for a solo artist, as well as the record for the most nominations without a win. Vampire Weekend and Coldplay have each received the award twice, and Coldplay are the only group to win two years consecutively. American artists have been presented with the award more than any other nationality, though it has been presented to musicians or groups from the United Kingdom five times, from Ireland twice, and from France and Australia once each. Artists from Canada, Iceland, and Sweden have been nominated for the award, but none have won.

Recipients

Sinéad O'Connor was the inaugural winner in 1991.
Michael Stipe of 1992 award winner R.E.M.
Black and white image of a man wearing a white dress shirt, a dark vest and jeans holding a guitar and standing behind a microphone stand. His eyes are closed, and the background is completely black except for a single light that shines from behind.
Thom Yorke of the three-time award-winning band Radiohead.
Three-time winner Beck.
Björk has been nominated a record nine times.
Four men in from of an audience.
Two-time award-winning band Coldplay.
In the forefront, a man in a white dress shirt and tie holding a microphone on a stand. In the background, a man wearing a jacket, tie, and sunglasses playing keyboards.
2007 winners Gnarls Barkley.
On the left, a man in red pants and a black T-shirt with black hair down to his chin holding a red guitar. On the right, a woman wearing a white shirt with black polka dots standing behind a red microphone stand.
Three-time award-winning band The White Stripes.
Ezra Koenig of two-time award-winner Vampire Weekend.
St. Vincent was the second solo female recipient when she won in 2015.
Brittany Howard of 2016 award winner Alabama Shakes.
2017 award winner David Bowie.
Year[I] Performing artist(s) Work Nominees Ref.
1991 Sinéad O'Connor I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got [6]
1992 R.E.M. Out of Time [8]
1993 Tom Waits Bone Machine [9]
1994 U2 Zooropa [10]
1995 Green Day Dookie [11]
1996 Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York [12]
1997 Beck Odelay [13]
1998 Radiohead OK Computer [14]
1999 Beastie Boys Hello Nasty [15]
2000 Beck Mutations [16]
2001 Radiohead Kid A [17]
2002 Coldplay Parachutes [18]
2003 Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head [19]
2004 The White Stripes Elephant [20]
2005 Wilco A Ghost Is Born [21]
2006 The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan [22]
2007 Gnarls Barkley St. Elsewhere [23]
2008 The White Stripes Icky Thump [24]
2009 Radiohead In Rainbows [25]
2010 Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix [26]
2011 The Black Keys Brothers [27]
2012 Bon Iver Bon Iver [28]
2013 Gotye Making Mirrors [29]
2014 Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City [30]
2015 St. Vincent St. Vincent [31]
2016 Alabama Shakes Sound & Color [32]
2017 David Bowie Blackstar [33]
2018 The National Sleep Well Beast [34]
2019 Beck Colors [35]
2020 Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride [36]
2021 Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters [37]
2022 St. Vincent Daddy's Home [38]
2023 Wet Leg Wet Leg [39]
2024 Boygenius The Record [40]

^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

Artists with multiple wins

Artists with multiple nominations

See also

References

Specific

  1. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  2. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  3. ^ "New Categories for the 2023 GRAMMYs Announced: Songwriter of the Year, Best Video Game Soundtrack, Best Song for Social Change & More Changes".
  4. ^ a b Popkin, Helen A.S. (January 23, 2006). "Alternative to what?". msnbc.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  5. ^ "Grammys return to New York". TimesDaily. Tennessee Valley Printing. May 25, 1990. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (January 11, 1991). "Grammy Nominees Announced". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 30, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  7. ^ Grammy Blue Book (edition 2021)
  8. ^ Pareles, Jon (January 9, 1992). "Grammy Short List: Many For a Few". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  9. ^ DeYoung, Bill (February 23, 1993). "One critic handicaps tonight's Grammys". The Gainesville Sun. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  10. ^ Campbell, Mary (January 7, 1994). "Sting, Joel top Grammy nominations". Star-News. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  11. ^ Browne, David (February 24, 1995). "1995 Grammy Award nominees". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  12. ^ "List of Grammy nominees". CNN. January 4, 1996. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  13. ^ "The Complete List of Nominees". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1997. p. 2. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "No Spice, Plenty Of Age In Grammy Announcement". MTV. January 6, 1998. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  15. ^ "41st annual Grammy nominees". CNN. January 5, 1999. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations". CNN. January 4, 2000. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  17. ^ Hiatt, Brian; vanHorn, Teri (January 3, 2001). "Dr. Dre, Beyoncé Lead Grammy Nominees". MTV. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  18. ^ Basham, David (January 24, 2002). "Got Charts? Creed, Eminem, No Doubt, 'NSYNC Have Something In Common". MTV. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  19. ^ "Grammy nominees and winners". CNN. February 24, 2003. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  20. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (January 12, 2004). "White Stripes To Perform At Grammy Awards". MTV. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  21. ^ "Grammy Award nominees in top categories". USA Today. Gannett Company. February 7, 2005. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  22. ^ "The Complete List of Grammy Nominations". The New York Times. December 8, 2005. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  23. ^ "Grammys 2007: A list of the nominees". Entertainment Weekly. December 7, 2006. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  24. ^ Gundersen, Edna (December 7, 2007). "Kanye West and Amy Winehouse lead Grammy nominees". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  25. ^ Stout, Gene (February 6, 2009). "Grammys Awards: Who will perform, who will win, who should win". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  26. ^ "Grammy nominations 2010 announced – Beyonce, Lady Gaga, MGMT shortlisted". NME. IPC Media. December 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  27. ^ "Grammys 2011 Winners List". Billboard. February 13, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  28. ^ "Grammy Awards 2012: Complete Winners And Nominees List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  29. ^ Eggertsen, Chris; Ellwood, Gregory; Hasty, Katie (February 10, 2013). "55th Grammy Awards – winners and nominees". HitFix. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  30. ^ "The Recording Academy" (PDF). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  31. ^ "Grammys 2015: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  32. ^ "2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2016. Archived from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  33. ^ "Beyoncé Leads 59th Grammy Nominations". Grammy Awards. May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  34. ^ "60th Grammy Nominees". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  35. ^ Minsker, Evan (7 December 2018). "Grammy Nominations 2019: See The Full List Here". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  36. ^ 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards (2019), Grammy.com, 7 December 2018
  37. ^ 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards (2020), Grammy.com, 24 November 2020
  38. ^ 2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List, Grammy.com, 23 November 2020
  39. ^ "Air Date For 2023 GRAMMYs Announced: Taking Place On Feb. 5 In Los Angeles; GRAMMY Nominations To Be Announced Nov. 15, 2022". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  40. ^ "2024 Grammy Nominations: See The Full Nominees List". The Recording Academy. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.

General

Categories