2016 Grammy Winner Vinyl Albums
The 2016 Grammy Awards show had some amazing performances, some lame performances, and a touch of the technical difficulties. There were tribute performances dedicated to Maurice White, David Bowie, B.B. King, Glenn Fry, and Lemmy Kilmister. Near the end, Taylor Swift gave a metaphorical middle finger to the trainwreck of the hour. In all, the show was a lot more upbeat than recent years.
Many of the artists released their music on vinyl, so we've tried to round up the winners into a mini-collection of vinyl.
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Best Rap Album
Best Rap Performance - "Alright"
Best Rap Song - "Alright"
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - "These Walls"
Kendrick's performance is deserving of any set of accolades that I could ever come up with. The visual display of emotion provided the necessary backdrop to his impressive album.
Taylor Swift - 1989
Album of the Year
Best Pop Vocal Album
Best Music Video - "Bad Blood"
It's a good thing the microphone was on a stand and Swift's hands were full. She's clearly had it with Kanye getting in her way and she used her platform to make a stand against the misogyny.
Mark Ronson - Uptown Special
Record of the Year - "Uptown Funk"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Uptown Funk"
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical - "Uptown Funk (Dave Audé Remix)"
Mark Ronson took his rightful place at the microphone upon winning Record of the Year giving props to the funk legends that came before. "Uptown Funk" was a cultural hurricane in 2015, and was the strongest nomination for that category.
Ed Sheeran - X
Best Pop Solo Performance - "Thinking Out Loud"
Song of the Year - "Thinking Out Loud"
Meh.
Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
Best Rock Performance - "Don't Wanna Fight"
Best Rock Song - "Don't Wanna Fight"
Best Alternative Music Album
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (Shawn Everett, engineer and Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer)
This was my #1 album of 2015, so it's no surprise to me that it got a number of nominations. Their performance on the show was superb.
Chris Stapleton - Traveller
Best Country Solo Performance - "Traveller"
Best Country Album
Stiff competition in this category. I think we can all thank Jesus that the frat boy country groups didn't even make the nominations.
Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free
Best Americana Album
Best American Roots Song - "Frames"
I was holding out hope for Punch Brothers to pull out a win in at least one of these categories (they came away winless), but Isbell's album is deserving of the awards.
Mavis Staples - Your Good Fortune
Best American Roots Performance - "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean"
Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
Best Dance Recording - "Where Are Ü Now"
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Muse - Drones
Best Rock Album
I mean, of the available options, sure. But I thought the nominations in this category were a bit weak.
D'Angelo & The Vanguard - Black Messiah
Best R&B Album
Best R&B Song - "Really Love"
Birdman Soundtrack
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Meghan Trainor - Title
Best New Artist
For me, this was the biggest disappointment of the night. I was rooting for Courtney Barnett who is truly an inspired songwriter.