Here’s a round up of the artists who won the prestigious album of the year in music’s biggest event, since the years TNL’s been around.
1993 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Bodyguard — Original Soundtrack Album
Whitney Houston
This was probably the worst movie ever made with the worst chemistry between the on-screen couple, but it was the most pivotal moment for Whitney’s career in the 90’s, as the diva elbowed R.E.M.(that’s when they did the album with Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Everybody Hurts and Man on the Moon!), Sting and Billy Joel out of the way to grab the Grammy this year. Not only did she revive a Dolly Parton country favorite into a timeless ballad and the ambitious-track that many amateur artists use to testify their own vocal valor, but she made music history when The Bodyguard sat pretty at number 1 for 20 weeks, selling more than 17 million copies, creating the record for the biggest-selling soundtrack album.
Other Nominees:
Kamakiriad (Donald Fagen)
River Of Dreams (Billy Joel)
Automatic For The People (R.E.M.)
Ten Summoner's Tales (Sting)
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1994 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
MTV Unplugged
Tony Bennett
Many scoff that he is now only as good as a gambling night in Vegas now, but while Carlos Santana waited till 50 to get his number 1 hit, Tony Bennett at 68 bagged his second Grammy and largely from the votes of fans who weren’t even born when he did it the first time round in 1962 for I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Teaming up with the likes of Elvis Costello and K.D. Lang and his ever loyal Ralph Sharon Trio, Bennett proved he still has the kind of charm and musical finesse that can steal the show and take home the Grammy even when you have the likes of Seal sending you a charttopping kiss from a rose.
Other Nominees:
The 3 Tenors In Concert 1994 (Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Zubin Mehta)
From The Cradle (Eric Clapton)
Longing In Their Hearts (Bonnie Raitt)
Seal (Seal)
1995 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
This was the first of the seven Grammy’s the double threat star Alanis Morissette won. Having played god in Kevin Smith movies (Dogma ) among a host of other films, she still sits on top of a mighty mighty throne for the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., and the highest selling debut album worldwide in music history, selling 30 million records for Jagged Little Pill. Her debut even ousted the King of Pop from a Grammy moment and Joan Osborne’s attempt to clinch almighty status to the one-of-us’s in the world and Pearl Jam’s hail-hail anthem for the 90’s generation, Better Man.
Other Nominees:
Daydream (Mariah Carey)
History Past, Present and Future Book 1 (Michael Jackson)
Relish (Joan Osborne)
Vitalogy (Pearl Jam)
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1996 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Falling Into You
Celine Dion
One of the best albums from Celine to date, even those who aren’t too tough for romantic-mush unroll their sleeves for a heart each, in respect for the talent this album is drenched with. Though not Dion’s first Grammy (having won her first two years ago for her timeless Disney collaboration with Peabo Bryson for Beauty and the Beast ), it is definitely one of her most remembered and set her on sail into Titanic success in music that has shown no signs of sinking yet (it was in the very next year that she recorded her 4-time Grammy winning song that almost everyone in the world who hadn’t hear of Leonardo Di Caprio or some even, the Titanic, still remember, My Heart Will Go On).
Other Nominees:
Odelay (Beck)
The Score (Fugees)
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (the Smashing Pumpkins)
Waiting To Exhale — Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists)
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1997 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
When Bob Dylan gets sick of the world, of love and of himself, he makes albums worth of monumental hits. Keep this guy away from the prozac and we can’t keep away from his melancholic musings, even when Radiohead offers us wrist-splitting whines in Karma Police. This album took an entire 90’s generation into the era of the mid 60’s when music was spawning the greatest revolution yet. Just six years after he was honored with a lifetime achievement award, Dylan also proved to us that Jakob wasn’t the only legacy Dylan had to offer to the kids of the 90’s. Check out his acceptance speech for the role Buddy Holly played in this award-winning breakthrough for the great songwriter.
Other Nominees:
The Day (Babyface)
This Fire (Paula Cole)
Flaming Pie (Paul McCartney)
OK Computer (Radiohead)
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1998 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
She was a lady who had already championed musical stardom with her Grammy-winning band the Fugees, but her solo effort was so outstanding, it won her not only Album of the Year, but also Best New Artist and three other Grammy’s in 1998. Her album, which featured hit single Doo Wop (That Thing), competed with Queen of Pop, Madonna and TNL’s favorite breakthrough artist of that year, Garbage and Sheryl Crow’s hit clad compilation (this is the one that featured There Goes the Neighborhood, My Favorite Mistake, Sweet Child O’ Mine and Difficult Kind)!
Other Nominees:
The Globe Sessions (Sheryl Crow)
Version 2.0 (Garbage)
Ray Of Light (Madonna)
Come On Over (Shania Twain)
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1999 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Supernatural
Carlos Santana
What a fitting conclusion to a century – the last number 1 single of the 20th century won the Latin maestro his first Grammy (actually his first 8 Grammy’s). Reinventing himself with a spiritual and musical journey, Santana returned to wow the world yet again. His characteristic guitar frills still had the same Latin soul from the 70’s, but still sounded so fresh and new, that the whole world was learning Salsa again. His collaborations were genius, from alt-rock beaus like Rob Thomas to R n’ B babies, Product GMB to Lauryn Hill to Eric Clapton!
Other Nominees:
Millennium (Backstreet Boys)
Fly (Dixie Chicks)
When I Look In Your Eyes (Diana Krall)
Fanmail (TLC)
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2000 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Two Against Nature
Steely Dan
After decades of hiatus, flag-bearers of the veteran jazz-rock band, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen returned to award-winning acclaim. The old hands who were aptly pegged as the ‘musical antiheroes’ of the 70’s by Rollingstone, were now up against the newest and most controversial hero for white-man-can-rap (and not diluted with the electronica mumbo-jumbo famed by the Beastie Boys), Eminem among other big names, to win the coveted Grammy.
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Other Nominees:
Midnite Vultures (Beck)
The Marshall Mathers LP (Eminem)
Kid A (Radiohead)
You're The One (Paul Simon)
2001 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
O Brother, Where Art Thou? — Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists
With super band U2 as well radio’s favorite stars India Arie and Outkast (who won best Rap album) in the running, this was one of the biggest surprises of the 2001 Grammy’s. It took home not only a Grammy in this category but 4 other wins as well, including Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Best Male Country Vocal (sung by Ralph Stanley who had waited 75 years for his first Grammy).
The soundtrack of bluegrass and all-American country/folk music, is from the Ethan and Joel Coen movie based on the 1929 Depression.
Other Nominees:
Love And Theft (Bob Dylan)
Acoustic Soul (India.Arie)
Stankonia (OutKast)
All That You Can't Leave Behind (U2)
2002 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
Before the discovery of the high profile Bollywood dad, this young lady was able to restore smooth female-vocal jazz to a Grammy status for the 21st century, after Diana Krall’s nomination failed to clinch the prize in 1999. In fact, her album’s worth of it, was the first award-winning mainstream edition of Jazz for the 2000’s.
Much of the work on the album was penned by acclaimed Jazz musicians, including her Grammy-winning breakthrough single, Don’t Know Why, (which was written by Jesse Harris).
Her heart-drenched love songs were truly music to the ears of anyone who believed something good can come out of any heart break.
Other Nominees:
Home (Dixie Chicks)
The Eminem Show (Eminem)
Nellyville (Nelly)
The Rising (Bruce Springsteen)
2003 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
This was the year dominated by Rap and R n’ B and this was the album that gave André 3000 and Big Boi the stamp of eternity in private record collections, club dance floors and contemporary hit radio charts around the world! Their song Hey Ya is arguably the anthem the 2000’s will always be remembered for, even though they had already won Best Rap Album the year before for Stankonia.
The album behest JT’s cracking solo debut (these were the days when he broke up with Britney while she was still a virgin…and the real reason he had to self-assure himself about getting sexy back at least shortly after…needless to say though, the verb is always better than the adjective! ) on swinging nights at bachelor-ville, and The White Stripes’ Elephant (which featured the Grammy-winning song with the easiest-to-play and anthemic bass line for this generation, Seven Nation Army), and Missy Elliott’s weight-loss album (which won Best Hip Hop) among others.
The double disc album features two creative personalities in music (literally and metaphorically) with Andre Benjamin’s tracks one Speakerboxx and Antwan Patton on the Love Below. Psychedelic hip-hop thrill-fest, Hey Ya was from Love Below, while sexy bass-line clad groove-maker, The Way You Move, was from Speakerboxx.
Other Nominees:
Under Construction (Missy Elliott)
Fallen (Evanescence)
Justified (Justin Timberlake)
Elephant (the White Stripes)
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2004 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Genius Loves Company
Ray Charles & Various Artists
It’s not every artist who gets almost an entire awards-ceremony worth of accolades as a eulogy but when it comes to the Genius of Soul, nothing less would do. Genius Loves Company was the album Ray Charles recorded in the final months of his legendary life, and which featured collaborations with Diana Krall, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and Norah Jones (who accepted the award for Record of the Year for their duet, Here We Go Again). The album won 8 Grammy’s that year, topping power diva Alicia Keys, Usher’s extravagantly smooth reconciliation with misdemeanors, and Green Day’s political tribute to U.S. intelligence.
Other Nominees:
American Idiot (Green Day)
The Diary Of Alicia Keys (Alicia Keys)
Confessions (Usher)
The College Dropout (Kanye West)
2005 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
U2
This was U2’s year, they took home 5 Grammy’s including Best Songwriter, Best Rock Album and Best Song.
The win denied Kanye of his claim for award-winning near-death inspiration in Late Registration. The Grammy for Album of the Year was U2’s second since 1987’s Joshua Tree and just one of the 8 they won that year. The album, explained Bono at the ceremony, was named after his father, who raised him alone after his mother passed away when he was 14, who was called an atomic bomb for his temperamental ways. He explained that the album was meant to be a comfort for what was sometimes a difficult father-son relationship, but it proved to be a greater comfort to the post 9/11 recovering US nation, featuring songs on peace (City of Blinding Lights), love (A Man and A Woman), grief (Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own) and divine providence (Yahweh).
The album also made its soaring Grammy climb when the world had also been reintroduced to the hope of riveting comebacks, with post-rehab-ready-to-rock Emancipation of Mimi and Kanye’s post-accident musical appreciation for life.
Other Nominees:
The Emancipation Of Mimi (Mariah Carey)
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (Paul McCartney)
Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (Gwen Stefani)
Late Registration (Kanye West)
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2006 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Taking The Long Way
Dixie Chicks
Texas’ and Republican’s favorite girls, definitely took the long way back to stardom after falling from grace because of lead singer Natalie Maine’s vocal critique on then President George W and his war in Iraq.
The long way included not refuting their political stance, writing songs about the threatening mail and teaming up with other big celebrity names who share their opinion on the next album.
And in the end walking away with heads held five Grammy’s high.
Produced by Rick Rubin, the album, which featured contributions from Sheryl Crow, Linda Perry and John Mayor, won all the awards it was nominated for, and was up against JT’s return of the sexy and RHCP’s first album in their two decade history to debut at number 1.
Other Nominees:
St. Elsewhere (Gnarls Barkley)
Continuum (John Mayer)
Stadium Arcadium (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
FutureSex/LoveSounds (Justin Timberlake)
2007 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
River: The Joni Letters
Herbie Hancock
This was yet another surprise Grammy win. Veteran jazz musician Herbie Hancock’s tribute to Joni Mitchell was the surprise winner of the most coveted edition of the Grammy’s – it being the year of the 50th anniversary of the awards ceremony.
Hancock was speechless and fumbled through his acceptance speech as the 11 time Grammy winner accepted his most unexpected win yet from presenter Quincy Jones. Hancock’s tribute album was up against 24 year old golden soul voice, Amy Winehouse’s Back in Black and the unstoppable Kanye’s master works in Graduation, who was once again denied his chance at album of the year (and they say, his head (still somehow) grew three sizes that day).
In the album Hancock teams up with relatively new Jazz vocalists like the instantly likeable Corinne Bailey Rae and lovely Norah Jones as well as everybody’s man for romance, Leonard Cohen and the Queen of Rock n’ Roll who knows how to use her legs even at 68, Tina Turner.
Other Nominees:
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Foo Fighters)
These Days (Vince Gill)
Graduation (Kanye West)
Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)
For more on Grammy wins from back in the day log on to www.grammy.com