Grammy Award

The Grammy Award is presented by the Recording Academy, an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry, for outstanding achievements in musical recordings. It is the approximate equivalent, in the music world, to the Oscarss.

Like the Oscars, the Grammies, currently with a total of 101 categories within 28 fields of music (such as pop, gospel, rap), are voted by peers - in this case voting members of the Recording Academy.

The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammys are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

The Grammy voters tend to be elderly, musically conservative, and are heavily marketed to by record companies, who place great stock in some types of artists winning Grammys (accurately but cynically put as those which sell to "teenage girls and housewives"). Therefore, the main Grammys tend to go to either well-established acts or those which fall into the above categories. Hence, the Grammys are not taken particularly seriously by many musicians or music fans.

Awards include:

Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Song of the Year
Best New Artist
Grammy Hall of Fame
Alternative
- Best Alternative Music Performance
Blues
- Best Traditional Blues Album or Recording
- Best Contemporary Blues Album or Recording
Children's
- Best Recording for Children - Single or Album, Musical or Spoken
- Best Musical Album for Children
- Best Spoken Word Album for Children
Classical
- Best Classical Album
- Best Classical Orchestral Performance
- Best Opera Recording
- Best Choral Performance, Classical
- Best Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (with or without orchestra)
- Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist(s) (with orchestra)
- Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist(s) (without orchestra)
- Best Chamber Music Performance
- Best Classical Vocal Performance
- Best Classical Contemporary Composition
- Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor)
- Best Classical Crossover Album
Comedy
- Best Comedy Performance Single or Album, Spoken or Musical
Composing and arranging
- Best Instrumental Composition (other than Jazz)
- Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television
- Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
- Best Instrumental Arrangement
- Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement
Country
- Best Female Country Vocal Performance
- Best Male Country Vocal Performance
- Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
- Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
- Best Country Instrumental Performance
- Best Country Song
- Best Country Album
- Best Bluegrass Album
Film/TV/Media
- Best Soundtrack Album
Folk
- Best Traditional Folk Album incl. Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording/Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
- Best Contemporary Folk Album incl. Best Ethnic or Contemporary Folk Recording
- Best Native American Music Album
Gospel
- Best Gospel Performance
- Best Soul Gospel Performance
- Best Gospel Other: Incl. Sacred, Religious or Inspirational Recording, Musical or Non-Musical
- Best Rock Gospel Album incl. Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album
- Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album
- Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel or Bluegrass Gospel Album
- Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
- Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album
- Best Gospel Album By Choir or Chorus
Historical
- Best Historical Album
Jazz
- Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, Instrumental - Also cont. Jazz Performance Vocal or Instrumental
- Best Jazz Vocal
- Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist
- Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group
- Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance
- Best Latin Jazz Performance
Latin
- Best Latin Pop Performance
- Best Tropical Latin Performance
- Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance
- Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance
- Best Tejano Music Performance
- Best Salsa Performance
- Best Merengue Performance
Musical Show
- Best Musical Show Album
Music Video
- Best Music Video, Short Form
- Best Music Video, Long Form
New Age
- Best New Age Album
Packaging and Notes
- Best Album Package - Incl. Album Cover, Graphic Arts, Photography
- Best Recording Package - Boxed
- Best Album Notes

Polka
- Best Polka Album
Pop
- Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
- Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
- Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
- Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
- Best Pop Instrumental Performance
- Best Pop Vocal Album
- Best Dance Recording
- Best Pop Instrumental Album
- Best Contemporary Song
- Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female
- Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male
- Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By a Group
- Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance

Production and engineering
- Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
- Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
- Best Classical Engineered Recording
- Classical Producer Of The Year
- Remixer Of The Year
R&B
- Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
- Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
- Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
- Best R&B Song
- Best R&B Album
- Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Rap
- Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
- Best Rap Album
Reggae
- Best Reggae Album
Rock
- Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
- Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
- Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
- Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
- Best Hard Rock Performance
- Best Metal Performance
- Best Rock Instrumental Performance
- Best Rock Song
- Best Rock Album
Spoken
- Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Album
- Best Spoken Comedy Album
Trad Pop
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
World
- Best World Music Album

Awards by year

Years reflect the year in which the awards were presented, for music released in the previous year.