Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album

Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Record by boygenius is the most recent recipient
Awarded for	Quality albums in the alternative genre
Country	United States
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded	1991
Currently held by	boygenius — The Record (2024)
Website	grammy.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, with St. Vincent being the first solo female to win the award twice; 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.

Thom Yorke of the three-time award-winning band Radiohead.

Three-time winner Beck.

Björk has been nominated a record nine times.

Two-time award-winning band Coldplay.

2007 winners Gnarls Barkley.

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, and the first to win twice for solo recordings.

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	Laurie Anderson – Strange Angels Kate Bush – The Sensual World The Replacements – All Shook Down World Party – Goodbye Jumbo	[6]
1992	R.E.M.	Out of Time	Elvis Costello – Mighty Like a Rose Jesus Jones – Doubt Nirvana – Nevermind Richard Thompson – Rumor and Sigh	[8]
1993	Tom Waits	Bone Machine	The B-52s – Good Stuff The Cure – Wish Morrissey – Your Arsenal XTC – Nonsuch	[9]
1994	U2	Zooropa	Belly – Star Nirvana – In Utero R.E.M. – Automatic for the People The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream	[10]
1995	Green Day	Dookie	Tori Amos – Under the Pink Crash Test Dummies – God Shuffled His Feet Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral	[11]
1996	Nirvana	MTV Unplugged in New York	Björk – Post Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love The Presidents of the United States of America – The Presidents of the United States of America	[12]
1997	Beck	Odelay	Tori Amos – Boys for Pele Tracy Bonham – The Burdens of Being Upright R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness	[13]
1998	Radiohead	OK Computer	Björk – Homogenic David Bowie – Earthling The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land	[14]
1999	Beastie Boys	Hello Nasty	Tori Amos – From the Choirgirl Hotel PJ Harvey – Is This Desire? Radiohead – Airbag/How Am I Driving? The Smashing Pumpkins – Adore	[15]
2000	Beck	Mutations	Tori Amos – To Venus and Back Fatboy Slim – You've Come a Long Way, Baby Moby – Play Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile	[16]
2001	Radiohead	Kid A	Fiona Apple – When the Pawn… Beck – Midnite Vultures The Cure – Bloodflowers Paul McCartney – Liverpool Sound Collage	[17]
2002	Coldplay	Parachutes	Tori Amos – Strange Little Girls Björk – Vespertine Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars Radiohead – Amnesiac	[18]
2003	Coldplay	A Rush of Blood to the Head	Beck – Sea Change Clinic – Walking with Thee Elvis Costello and the Imposters – Cruel Smile The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Behind the Music	[19]
2004	The White Stripes	Elephant	The Flaming Lips – Fight Test Radiohead – Hail to the Thief Sigur Rós – ( ) Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell	[20]
2005	Wilco	A Ghost Is Born	Björk – Medúlla Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News	[21]
2006	The White Stripes	Get Behind Me Satan	Arcade Fire – Funeral Beck – Guero Death Cab for Cutie – Plans Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better	[22]
2007	Gnarls Barkley	St. Elsewhere	Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not The Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones Thom Yorke – The Eraser	[23]
2008	The White Stripes	Icky Thump	Lily Allen – Alright, Still Arcade Fire – Neon Bible Björk – Volta The Shins – Wincing the Night Away	[24]
2009	Radiohead	In Rainbows	Beck – Modern Guilt Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges	[25]
2010	Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	David Byrne and Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Death Cab for Cutie – The Open Door EP Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It's Blitz!	[26]
2011	The Black Keys	Brothers	Arcade Fire – The Suburbs Band of Horses – Infinite Arms Broken Bells – Broken Bells Vampire Weekend – Contra	[27]
2012	Bon Iver	Bon Iver	Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys Foster the People – Torches My Morning Jacket – Circuital Radiohead – The King of Limbs	[28]
2013	Gotye	Making Mirrors	Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel... Björk – Biophilia M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming Tom Waits – Bad as Me	[29]
2014	Vampire Weekend	Modern Vampires of the City	Neko Case – The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You The National – Trouble Will Find Me Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks Tame Impala – Lonerism	[30]
2015	St. Vincent	St. Vincent	Alt-J – This Is All Yours Arcade Fire – Reflektor Cage the Elephant – Melophobia Jack White – Lazaretto	[31]
2016	Alabama Shakes	Sound & Color	Björk – Vulnicura My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall Tame Impala – Currents Wilco – Star Wars	[32]
2017	David Bowie	Blackstar	Bon Iver – 22, A Million PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool	[33]
2018	The National	Sleep Well Beast	Arcade Fire – Everything Now Gorillaz – Humanz LCD Soundsystem – American Dream Father John Misty – Pure Comedy	[34]
2019	Beck	Colors	Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Björk – Utopia David Byrne – American Utopia St. Vincent – Masseduction	[35]
2020	Vampire Weekend	Father of the Bride	Big Thief – U.F.O.F. James Blake – Assume Form Bon Iver – I, I Thom Yorke – Anima	[36]
2021	Fiona Apple	Fetch the Bolt Cutters	Beck – Hyperspace Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher Brittany Howard – Jaime Tame Impala – The Slow Rush	[37]
2022	St. Vincent	Daddy's Home	Fleet Foxes – Shore Halsey – If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams	[38]
2023	Wet Leg	Wet Leg	Arcade Fire – We Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You Björk – Fossora Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down	[39]
2024	Boygenius	The Record	Arctic Monkeys – The Car Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Gorillaz – Cracker Island PJ Harvey – I Inside the Old Year Dying	[40]
2025	TBD		Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God Clairo – Charm Kim Gordon – The Collective Brittany Howard – What Now St. Vincent – All Born Screaming	[41]

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

Artists with multiple wins

3 wins Beck Radiohead The White Stripes

2 wins Coldplay St. Vincent Vampire Weekend

Artists with multiple nominations

9 nominations Björk 8 nominations Beck Radiohead 6 nominations Arcade Fire 5 nominations Tori Amos PJ Harvey 4 nominations Death Cab for Cutie St. Vincent Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3 nominations Fiona Apple Arctic Monkeys Bon Iver My Morning Jacket Nine Inch Nails Nirvana R.E.M. The Smashing Pumpkins Tame Impala Vampire Weekend The White Stripes

2 nominations Big Thief David Bowie David Byrne Coldplay Elvis Costello The Cure Fatboy Slim The Flaming Lips Franz Ferdinand Gnarls Barkley Gorillaz The National Thom Yorke Tom Waits Wilco

See also

• Rock music portal

• Independent music
• List of alternative rock artists

References

Specific

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General

• "Past Winners Search: Alternative". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
• "Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Performance". Rock on the Net. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2010.