Another year has come and gone and we now find ourselves in that familiar position of either feeling validated in our belief that the
GRAMMYs – a campaign of essentially awarding artists for record sales – is either a bunch of bullshit, or that our opinions on the best music of the year are "correct," in tandem with a bunch of industry insiders.
Personally, I feel like letting someone else decide what the best album or song is throughout an entire year is just ridiculous. And for obvious reasons. I think that
Protomartyr put out one of the best records of the year. However, I now see that that was wrong. That based on the all-knowing choosiness of the National Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences and the collective democracy of their members, that in actuality, Muse have the best rock album of the year. Silly me, my foolish tastes and uncouth preferences.
Anyway, here's the list of this year's winners, and in the spirit of full disclosure, I do think that
To Pimp a Butterfly was the best of the two or three hip-hop albums that I listened to all the way through in 2015. I must be a master of taste, ordained by the GRAMMY gods.
Record of the Year
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk"
Album of the Year
Taylor Swift
1989
Best New Artist
Meghan Trainor
Best Rock Performance
Alabama Shakes "Don't Wanna Fight"
Best Musical Theater Album
Hamilton
Song of the Year
Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud"
Best Country Album
Chris Stapleton
Traveller
Best Rap Album
Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap
The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern
Best Pop Solo Performance
Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud"
Best Rap Song
Kendrick Lamar "Alright"
Best Rap Performance
Kendrick Lamar "Alright"
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Kendrick Lamar feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat "These Walls"
Best Alternative Music Album
Alabama Shakes
Sound & Color
Best Rock Album
Muse
Drones
Best Rock Song
Alabama Shakes "Don't Wanna Fight"
Best R&B Album
D'Angelo and The Vanguard
Black Messiah
Best Urban Contemporary Album
The Weeknd
Beauty Behind the Madness
Best R&B Performance
The Weeknd "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)"
Best R&B Song
D'Angelo and The Vanguard "Really Love"
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Lalah Hathaway "Little Ghetto Boy"
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Skrillex and Diplo
Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
Best Dance Recording
Skrillex and Diplo With Justin Bieber "Where Are Ü Now"
Best Music Video
Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar "Bad Blood"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Little Big Town "Girl Crush"
Best Country Song
Little Big Town "Girl Crush"
Best Music Film
Amy Winehouse
Amy
Best Rap/Song Collaboration
Common & John Legend "Glory"
Best Pop Vocal Album
Taylor Swift
1989
Best Country Solo Performance
Chris Stapleton "Traveller"
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Tobymac
This is Not a Test
Best Roots Gospel Album
The Fairfield Four Still
Rockin' My Soul
Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
Pitbull
Dale
Best Latin Pop Album
Ricky Martin
A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition)
Best Comedy Album
Louis C.K.
Live at Madison Square Garden
Best Spoken Word Album
Jimmy Carter
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Birdman
Best Gospel Album
Israel & Newbreed
Covered: Alive is Asia [Live] (Deluxe)
Best Gospel Performance/Song
Kirk Franklin "Wanna Be Happy?"
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
Francesca Battistella "Holy Spirit"
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Stephen Paulus
Paulus: Prayers and Remembrances
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Augustin Hadelich, "Dutilleux: Violin Concerto, L'Arbre Des Songes"
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Joyce DiDonato and Antonio Pappano
Joyce & Tony - Live from Wigmore Hall
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Eighth Blackbird "Filament"
Best Choral Performance
Charles Bruffy "Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil"
Best Opera Recording
Saito Kinen Orchestra; SKF Matsumoto Chorus & SKF Matsumoto Children's Chorus "Ravel: L'Enfant Les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade"
Producer of the Year, Classical
Judith Sherman
Best New Age Album
Paul Avgerinos
Grace
Best Regional Roots Music Album
Jon Cleary
Go Go Juice
Best Folk Album
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Best Blues Album
Buddy Guy
Born to Play Guitar
Best Bluegrass Album
The Steeldrivers
The Muscle Shoals Recordings
Best Americana Album
Jason Isbell
Something More Than Free
Best Americana Roots Song
Jason Isbell "24 Frames"
Best Americana Roots Performance
Mavis Staples "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"
Best Tropical Latin Album
Rubén Blades with Roberto Delgado & Orchestra
Son De Panamá
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Los Tigres Del Norte
Realidades - Deluxe Edition
Best Children's Album
Tim Kubart
Home
Best World Album
Angélique Kidjo
Sings
Best Reggae Album
Morgan Heritage
Strictly Roots
Best Latin Jazz Album
Eliane Elias
Made in Brazil
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Maria Schneider
The Thompson Fields
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
John Scofield
Past Present
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Cécile McLorin Salvant
For One to Love
Best Surround Sound Album
Roger Waters A
mused to Death
Best Orchestral Performance
Boston Symphony Orchestra "Shostakovitch: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphony No. 10"
Best Classical Compendium
Giancarlo Guerrero
Paulus: Three Places of Enlightenment; Veil of Tears & Grand Concerto
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk (Dave Audé Remix)"
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Alabama Shakes S
ound & Color
Best Historical Album
Various Artists
The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Various Artists
The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Vol. 2 (1928-32)
Best Album Notes
Joni Mitchell
Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced
Best Recording Package
Sarah Dodds, Shauna Dodds & Dick Reeves Asleep at the Wheel,
Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Maria Schneider "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)"
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Avi Kaplin, Kristin Taylor, Kevin K.O. Olusola "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy"
Best Instrumental Composition
Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra "The Afro Latin Jazz Suite"
MusiCares Person of the Year
Lionel Richie