We’re heading into awards season now; next up are the Grammys on February 1. This year, there are 95 categories, all crammed with superb nominations. That's been the case over the years with many excellent Grammy winners and, of course, runners-up.
Among all the awards given out over the previous 67 years, and across the various categories, there are some real high points. One of those is for Album of the Year. That always gets plenty of focus, acclaim, and is highly coveted. As you can imagine, there have been lots of superb albums from many top artists picking up that award.
But we’ve also seen many surprises. Looking back now, it seems extraordinary that some absolute classics of albums, deemed perfect by many, missed out. Not just on winning the award itself, but they weren’t even nominated in that main album category either. Let's look across the decades. starting with the 1960s.
16 Classic albums without a Grammy Album of the Year nomination
Bob Dylan — Highway 61 Revisited (Released 1965)
Bob Dylan made the controversial shift from acoustic to electric and underpinned the change with this album. It features some trademark tracks, such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” which remains legendary after all this time. The album itself still stands up well as a Dylan classic, timeless and influential.
The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds (1966)
This album changed music for lots of people. Paul McCartney has spoken of the album’s influence on The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album. The Beach Boys, in turn, cite the Fab Four's Rubber Soul as inspiration for Pet Sounds. It was a slow burner with some mixed reactions on release, but it has remained highly regarded over the years.
Classic albums from the 1970s
The 1970s had so many music genres featuring highly. And lots of top artists werehitting the heights with their new albums. Looking back now, it was definitely a golden era. There were many great releases, though, that missed out on the Album of the Year accolade at the Grammys. Here are just two of them.
Led Zeppelin — Physical Graffiti (1975)
Another landmark album, this continued to chart the progress of Led Zeppelin into their world-class status. There are so many great tracks from the band filling this double album. All top songs to this day. It’s creative, bluesy, solid rock with some more eastern influences brought in. It’s a don't dare miss it release from the band.
Dire Straits — Dire Straits (1978)
Maybe the debut album status held this one back. It did take the band time to get established and make the breakthrough. But this phenomenal album is worthy of any award going. It also kicked off a brilliant musical career for Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler.
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