Grammy Album of the Year Award Winners and Nominees

1973 nominee this was good. But not as good as the London version 😊
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1972 nominee I was surprised by how much I liked this. I know it’s a popular show, but I always thought it seemed dumb and didn’t give it a chance. I was missing out! I listened to the original Broadway recording right after, and I actually preferred this one. It felt a little more raw, a bit softer, and I preferred the production value on this one more. The other felt a little more sanitized and in your face. Overall, I really liked it and will probably listen again.
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1972 nominee this was good, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as their earlier album “Close to You”. It was fine, but I really wish they had loosened up their music a bit. Instead, I think this album felt even stiffer than the first one.
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1972 nominee disc 1 felt like any other Beatles album, but disc 2 felt a little more unique. I enjoyed the 2nd disc a lot more than the first. I never knew that George Harrison did anything so experimental and progressive during his solo career, maybe even surpassing John and Paul? I was pleasantly surprised.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1972 winner Oh my goodness, this album was amazing! I recognize bits of some of these songs just from Mom and Dad singing them when I was little, so that was fun. But the energy was fantastic, and it felt fresh. Very iconic 70’s sound.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1971 nominee Karen Carpenter’s voice is so beautiful. Between that and the harmonies, this was a super comforting album. I don’t think that there was anything groundbreaking in this album, but it had a lot of heart and felt very endearing. As in a few of the other albums I’ve listened to from the late 60’s early 70’s the instruments had a renaissance faire flair to them. I liked this album, and I was surprised that I liked their cover of “Help!” as well. Again, like several of the other albums I’ve listened to for this challenge, the lyrics felt a bit trite and the songs felt a bit stiff or stilted, with very little flowiness in the music. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I’m excited to see how they followed this up.
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1971 nominee I see why this is such a beloved album. The lyrics felt a bit flat to me, although I liked the humor in it. It was a fun album with classic motifs, and the simplicity and familiarity of the lyrics and vocals were comforting. It doesn’t knock my socks off, but if I had grown up listening to this, I can easily imagine it being a very dear album..
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1971 nominee I liked this one much more than I expected to. Take Me to the Pilot stood out to me. I was a bit disappointed that he sang at the same intensity on each song, and I wished that he showed more variety in his vocals. By the end of the album it started to get a bit grating. But on the tracks that the vocals and the instrumentation lined up, I enjoyed it.
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1971 nominee this was SO good. I liked Crosby, Stills, and Nash self-titled, but this was much better. I’m kind of floored this didn’t win. I wonder if this felt new and different at the time? I want to listen to it like fifteen more times. I get why Simon and Garfunkel won this year, but this album would have been my choice for winner. The Boxer was the best song of this year imo (at least out of these albums), but this whole album was fantastic.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1971 nominee I was surprised by how much I liked this album. It was a little up and down for me, I liked some of it, but then other bits were a bit boring (but would have made great background music). Overall though I enjoyed it. I’m curious if this album felt very novel at the time.
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1971 winner I’ve listened to this album before, and the thing that kind of bugs me is the yodel-ey thing they do with their voice, especially on the title track. It really takes me out of the songs when they do that. The production though in this album is engaging. I wouldn’t think of it as anything very special, but a lot of the small choices they made really pull you into their music more deeply. Overall, I’d say there are incredible songs on this album, but as a cohesive unit, it’s not my favorite. The Boxer is about as close to a perfect song as you can get though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1970 nominee this was such a fun album. Johnny Cash was engaging, and it was fun when he brought Roseann up to sing with him. A lot of the live recordings have been super long, so I also really liked that this was short and sweet. I love a live album, and you can’t go wrong with a classic Johnny Cash song, so I can definitely swing myself revisiting this one in the future.
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1970 nominee I enjoyed this. I really want to listen to it a few more times. I liked the energy, but I’d like to listen to the lyrics a bit more closely and sit with it a bit longer. Which I think is a pretty big compliment to this album that I want to spend more time thinking about it. I think this would have been my choice for winner? Abbey Road would be right up there too though.
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1970 nominee this album had so many songs that are familiar time because Dad would sing bits of them when I was growing up. I love that he sings so many random bits of random songs 🤣 I wonder if he knew them from the 5th dimension or if they sampled other popular songs. This was a fun album. Not really to my taste, but I could see myself revisiting this at some point. I think it was just a bit too peppy for my taste. I’m so hard to please…
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1970 nominee This is such a solid album. I always think I don’t really like this album, but it’s easily one of their best. It’s silly and it’s zany, but I also take it pretty seriously. I think they struck a great balance on this album, not sure how else to describe it. It’s not too much of anything, but it’s just the right amount of… everything? Also, several of my favorite of their songs are on this album. I always thought of myself as someone who likes the Beatles, but do I, like, really LIKE them? I always thought they were a bit overrated in how much they’ve influenced all music, but the more I listen to them during this challenge, I actually think they might be pretty properly rated. It’s insane how much they did in such a short time.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1970 winner I’ve heard of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, but I think this is the first time I’ve heard their music, and I quite liked it. Good vibes, good energy, the grit I love from the ‘70’s, the perfect amount of pretentiousness. And I think it hits a good balance of seriousness and levity. Good for them for winning! There are a lot of synths and horns. It’s very noticeable. But that’s okay.
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1969 nominee Awww, Dumbledore 🥹 am I crazy for thinking this has a Camelot-ish sound to it? The sound was a bit soft for me, and I disliked a lot of his choices on timbre, so this didn’t really hit for me. but I can see how it would be a very beloved album. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard of it before now.
⭐️⭐️.5

1969 nominee I find it fascinating that the songs that have really endured off this album are the b-side tracks. Does that ever happen? There’s a bunch of bangers on this album, I’m glad they made it, annnd it kind of feels like off-brand, extra weird sgt pepper. It seems like they could have gone a slightly different direction, kept the same sound and songs, but gotten a tighter album concept. But… it’s a pretty solid album.
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1969 nominee broski can play guitar. I bet this was a really fun album at the time, but it does kind of makes me wish I was listening to the versions of these songs that I already love. I’m a bit tossed on this album. He did a great job on it, I’m just not positive I liked the concept but also I kind of do…?
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1969 nominee “Save the Life of My Child” was such a surprise, but I liked it 🤣 this had some bangers in it, but I overall I thought it was pretty good. Just not as wonderful as I usually think of their songs. Still, their harmonies(when they harmonize on this album), and their sweeping/strong and stumbling melodies are so good together.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1969 winner these songs are so comforting. I can’t point to anything that’s particularly interesting or good about this album, but I love the comfy feeling/gentle homesickness that this makes me feel, and that’s worth a lot.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1968 nominee Bobbie Gentry was the first female country artist to be nominated for an album that she produced herself. So cool. I love the intense, seriousness of this album, the gritty sound that I’ve been dying for in most of these 60’s era albums, and it’s a fun concept. I wanted so badly to like this album, but it just didn’t quite hit for me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ever stop myself from thinking that this is what Phoebe Buffay thinks she sounds and that put a damper on it for me 🤣
⭐️⭐️.5

1968 nominee overall it was a sweet album. I would love to listen to this album as I walk a tree-lined path on a crisp fall day.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1968 nominee this album falls into the trap of being a little too moral/trite/goody-goody, but it was actually kind of a funny, cute album so overall I enjoyed it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1968 nominee this album was pretty decent. Not really my taste, but it was nice to hear Frankie Boy try his hand a different sound.
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1968 winner yay they won! And it was this album! One of my favorites of theirs :) I never realized how much I liked the Beatles until this challenge, but they really have a lot of bangers.
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1967 nominee this was a fun album and I like the (ever so slight) diversity of musical genre this brought to the Grammys.
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1967 nominee what I can say? It’s a pretty great album. This was my favorite of this year.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1967 nominee I think I was pretty fatigued from this album by the time I got to this album, and I just found this so boring. I may have another opinion if I’d ever seen the movie or if I was a bit fresher to this album listening challenge. All of this to say, I didn’t enjoy this at all, but I don’t really trust my opinion of this one.
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1967 nominee this album cover! The typeface leaves something to be desired, but otherwise it’s so cute and the title is fun. I think this is my favorite Streisand yet. I have respected all of her work I’ve heard so far, but I actually enjoyed this one as well.
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1967 winner I am saying this so begrudgingly but… I actually liked this album. I thought he did a great job on this, it had heart, he was charming and a little self-deprecating, and overall it’s a beautiful album. Credit where credit is due. If I ever get over being so tired of him from this album, I could see myself returning to this album. Definitely my favorite of his so far. And for once, I agree that this should be the winner. He was an illustrious artist, this was a great summary of his career, so this felt like the most important cultural piece of this year.
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1966 nominee the first track is such a good opener. I liked this soundtrack, but I mostly emitted it because it goes with such a beautiful, charming movie. I can’t say anything bad about it, and the good things I would say about it are intertwined deeply with the movie, and I actually think that’s a wonderful thing, just maybe not for album of the year?
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1966 nominee I am floored by how much I liked this album. It’s simple and sweet. I don’t think it was anything spectacular, but I thought it was a sweet listen and I can see myself returning to this album in the future.
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1966 nominee I didn’t really like this album, but I wonder if I would have had a different reaction if it had a different opening track? The first two bars of track one are truly grating. But I think this was an interesting album. And the vocals were incredibly impressive as ever.
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1966 nominee how did this album not win??? Out of the albums selected for this year, maybe it was too groundbreaking to win? It was by far the most progressive album from this year, especially compared to the other albums that feel quite safe and a bit outdated for the mid-60’s. Smh
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1966 winner I got the ick from this album so bad. The phrase that kept running through my mind as I listened to this album was, “Man, this guy was skeezey”. His voice is beautiful and the instruments are fine (a bit boring), but I like Frank Sinatra less for having listened to this album. Smh
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1965 nominee this was my favorite album of this year. I think I would enjoy listening to it again. I’m glad to come out of this listening challenge now knowing who Henry Mancini is and listening to so much of his work. He was excellent at his craft.
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1965 nominee she is such an impressive singer. If I was I. The mood to listen specifically for singing technique, this would be a great listen. But, as is my issue with many albums from this era, the heavenly instruments, trite lyrics, and ever beatifulness of the vocals and instruments keep this from being a very emotionally engaging album for me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1965 nominee I think this would have been my choice for winner for this year. Some of the lyrics came across as overly trite to me, but otherwise I thought it was solid.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1965 nominee this was fun. I thought it had decent energy. I’m having a hard time remembering this album as well, but I think I thought it was fine, but could have had a bit more flair or a tiny bit of edge to it to make it pop a bit more.
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1965 winner I might need to go back and re-listen to this as I hardly remember it. From what I remember I thought it was nice?
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1964 nominee (the album was unavailable on Spotify, the actual nominee was “The Singing Nun” by Soeur Sourir) this was a cute album. I can totally see it being a popular album, but it blows my mind that this album was such a smash hit at the time. The simplicity of the songs were the strong point of this album, and it came across as very sweet and a bit of a breathe of fresh air. I thought it was an interesting forerunner to the Sound of Music soundtrack being nominated. That being said, I struggle to see how this was a Grammy worthy album.
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1964 nominee This album had some really good moments. If I was slowly floating down the Danube at dusk, this would be a fantastic background album. But for regular life, it was so smooth I just couldn’t get a handle on any of it to remember much of the music. The horns were indeed impressive though.
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1964 nominee this one was my favorite album of this year. I can make a case for this album winning this year, but I think Streisand album was more impressive. Overall I enjoyed it, although I’m not sure I would seek it out to listen to it again. I liked the laid back sound on it, it felt more easy breezy than most of the albums I think I’ve heard so far in this challenge and that made it fun to listen to. Solid album.
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1964 nominee the actual album isn’t on Spotify (it’s wild how many of these nominees aren’t on Spotify), the actual album is “Bachs Greatest Hits” by Ward Swingle and the Swingle Singers. I can see why this would have been popular at the time, and it was good for what it was, but I wasn’t personally a fan. It just seemed to perfectly tied with a bow for my taste, but I do love hearing harmonies in music, and this time era had some strong (if not a bit bland) harmonies.
⭐️⭐️.5

1964 winner She has an incredible voice, impressive vocal control, and has, presumably, put in a lot of work on her craft. I have a lot of respect for the skill on this album, it’s just not something I really enjoyed listening to, at least at this point in time. For talent, this album should get a high star rating. But alas, I’m going off of vibes and personal presence so: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

**1963 nominee ** This was such an unserious album. It was funny enough. It’s fascinating to me how serious our music sounds now compared to the albums I’ve been listening to so far. Especially considering two comedy albums were not only nominated, but won album of the year just in the first four years of the Grammys. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

**1963 nominee ** Of course this album was great. Definitely would have been my choice for winner this year. This didn’t feel as fresh and exciting as Genius + Soul, but it was still fantastic. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

**1963 nominee ** This was nice. This isn’t something I’d usually listen to, and nothing stood out to me, but it was a fine listen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

**1963 nominee ** I don’t think I’ve ever heard such an early Tony Bennett album. His voice sounded so young. It was really sweet, and a little bittersweet, to listen to this album. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it was nice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1963 winner (The actual album was The First Family, only on YouTube). I genuinely don’t understand how non-musical albums won album of the year TWICE. That being said, it was funny. I’d listen to another album of his standup. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1962 nominee “Genius+Soul=Jazz” is the actual nomination, but it’s only available on YouTube. This was so freaking good. I’m so bummed it’s not available on Spotify. A lot of these nominations feel like a good reflection of the direction the music industry was heading, but this album felt like it was ahead of it’s time/an album that was helping move music forward to new, exciting things. I loved it. I think Judy Garland’s album deserved to win, but if this album had won instead, I would have said the same thing about this. They were both solid albums. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1962 nominee This was fun! I don’t have much to say about it, other than it felt like they had a specific sound and vibe they were shooting for, and I think they nailed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1962 nominee I liked this album of Mar King Cole’s much more than his last nominated album. A few of the songs gave me the ick, but the majority of the album was great. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1962 nominee Yeah… this one wasn’t for me. If I was going to listen to something with this vibe (sort of Andrew’s Sisters-esque), this would be a great option. That’s just not a sound I ever gravitate towards. But for what it was, they sounded like they were good singers and had a good energy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1962 nominee I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this soundtrack apart from the movie. I thought it was a great time. Henry Mancini is so good at creating a sound that matches the vibe of a story and holding to the sound throughout the album. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1962 winner This was such a good time. I think this album deserves to win. It was fun, her singing was fabulous, and her crowd interactions/somewhere over the rainbow interludes were great. I was floored by how much I enjoyed this one. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1961 nominee I wanted to like this album, and I was exited to listen to it, but this album gave me the ick. I think it’s that he sings about loving “girls”, and I just couldn’t get over it. I really didn’t like this. ⭐️⭐️

1961 nominee I don’t believe I’ve ever listened to an entire opera before, let alone an opera in another language. I was surprised by how much of the story I understood, and I enjoyed it more than I expected. I still don’t think opera is for me, but I was truly impressed by the singing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1961 nominee Hats off to Sinatra for being nominated so many times. I respect what a prolific singer he was. That being said, this album was not for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1961 nominee I don’t have much to say about this one. It feels weird to say about something composed by Brahms, but I thought it was just fine. Nothing spectacular, and I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for a re-listen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1961 nominee This was a great album. This was really similar to his first Carnegie Hall album, but I’d say I like this one even more. I slightly preferred the music selection in this album, and he felt looser and more fun when he took breaks to chat for a bit. I think this would have been my choice for winner this year.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1961 winner This is just so weird that this won the category. The album had funny moments, and I love his dry humor. I would guess that this might have been pretty cutting edge humor for the early ’60’s. It felt more pinpointed and cutting than other comedy I’m familiar with from the time (I Love Lucy, Burns and Allen, etc.) If this dropped today, it would feel pretty boring and dated, but for a ‘60’s comedy album, I thought he did a good job.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

2026 nominee I’m not very up to date on JB lore, so I think some of this is going over my head. But I thought it was hilarious that he referenced his standing on business fiasco 🤣 Overall, I thought the album was fine, it just didn’t really hold my interest (which was s pretty much par for the course for me when it comes to his music).
⭐️⭐️⭐️

2026 nominee I have nothing to say about this album. I listened to it multiple times, and even in the middle of listening to it, I forgot what it sounded like. This had no handle for me to hold on to. ⭐️

2026 nominee The throwback idea for this album was fun (zombie boy sent me), but it ultimately fell flat for me. I can see this being really fun for little monsters, but if I wanted to listen to og Gaga, I would turn to her old albums, not this. The nostalgic take was fun, I just wished it would have been infused with something more fresh. Instead, I spent most songs slightly annoyed, trying to figure out what this song reminded me of.
⭐️⭐️

2026 nominee this wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, but Sab did find a unique sound that matched her theme, and she carried both through the album beautifully. This felt like a natural progression from Short n Sweet, and it dovetailed with the persona she’s already created for herself quite well. My only complaints are that it didn’t feel quite New enough after short n sweet. Allll of the sexual innuendo felt a bit stale and over the top for me in this album. I felt like she was beating a dead horse with this one. The album overall is fine, but I probably wouldn’t listen to the whole album through. She really does carefree, “got along without ya before I met ya, gonna get along without you now” exceptionally well, and that’s a glorious, good time any time it comes up in her music. Looking at you “Goodbye”, you fabulous album closer, you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

2026 nominee I was floored by how much I enjoyed this. Definitely not a perfect album, but I enjoyed it a lot. Like, enough that I’ve done some looking into clipse, spent time thinking about the lyrics, and I’m interested in hearing more by clipse/registering to the album. I think this would have been my choice for winner. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2026 nominee I wanted to like this more, but I just didn’t really. I don’t really like his voice, and I don’t like the vibe of so many diss tracks. I can see why he would be so popular, again, this just isn’t a vibe that enjoyed. The rapping was good, production was good, and the music was reasonably compelling, so it’s definitely not trash garbage level, but I really didn’t enjoy it. ⭐️⭐️

2026 winner I liked this album. I’m not sure I would want to intentionally listen to it again, but I generally enjoyed it. I obviously didn’t follow the lyrics, and there were times when I got a bit bored since it’s such chill music, but overall I liked it more than I expected since this isn’t a style of music I generally enjoy. This feels like a low rating, but because of my personal taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2026 nominee I was surprised (and delighted) by how much I liked this album. It didn’t feel particularly groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it and Tyler the Creator has been making quite a splash this year, so this feels like a solid nominee for this category. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1960 nominee This was the soundtrack for a docuseries (which was later also turned into a documentary) that set the tone for how world war 2 has been documented in American culture. They did a great job making it sound like music from the 1940’s, and I’m guessing it probably blended really well with the show. But like the other soundtracks I’ve heard so far on this list, it still felt like a background album, not something I would expect in the album of the year category. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1960 nominee I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. But I really liked it. I see why Come Dance with Me won, but I think this is my favorite from this year’s nominees. I’ve always thought classical music was somewhat boring, but this album is making me question everything. I could see myself listening to this again. I’ve been surprised at how good the recording of the live albums have been thus far (both on this album and the Live at Carnegie Hall albums) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

1960 (nominee) Honestly, I’m surprised this album was nominated. The Music from Peter Gunn album that won 1959 made sense to me, but in comparison, I didn’t think this album was nearly as good. Especially considering the other albums that were nominated for this year (this year’s selections felt much higher quality to me than 1959’s). It was a fine listen, just not as tight of an album. For the most part it just felt like background music - im guessing it made a great soundtrack for the Peter Gunn tv show, I just didn’t think it was anything special on its own. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

1960 (nominee) this is the most rough and ready album on this list so far, and I REALLY enjoyed that. It felt like the songs had more texture and he does some interesting sounds with his voice. This was a departure from the smooth and, I don’t know, polite sounds from all of the albums that were nominated in 1959. I thought it was a good choice to leave in the bits where he talked to the crowd. I personally preferred the first half of the album, but considering this isn’t the kind of music I would generally listen to, I really enjoyed it and was delighted by some of the unexpected moments in the songs. I think this absolutely earned its place in the nominees for this category. For this year, I think this would have been my choice for the winner. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1960 winner First win for Ol’ Blue Eyes. This felt much more like what I expect from Frank Sinatra. Still not my favorite vibe - there are so many kitschy lyrics and cliches. But it was definitely fun dance music. ⭐️⭐️.5

1959 (nominee) This was such a breath of fresh air after three very slow albums. There were parts of it that felt a bit clunky (feels weird to give Tchaikovsky notes), but then there were also a few moments that were breathtaking. This has made me more open to listening to 20-minute-long songs in the future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1959 (nominee) Props to the chairman of the board for getting nominated twice in one year! Truly impressive. However, again, the tempo just felt horribly slow. I liked the sad vibes, but I thought it was a bit overly sappy (which is shocking, considering how much emo I listen to 🖤). It felt a little phony to me.
⭐️⭐️

1959 (nominee) The song, “All By Myself” low key reminds me of “Mandy” from White Christmas. Ironically, “Heat Wave” was actually in White Christmas.

Her voice is so beautiful and well controlled, but the tempo always seems to be dragging a little bit. I was bored by this album as well. ⭐️⭐️

1959 (nominee) I liked that every song was travel themed. Otherwise, I expected to enjoy this album, but I found it fairly boring and slow tempoed.
⭐️⭐️

1959 winner The first ever album of the year winner. It’s interesting that the first winner was an instrumental album. I liked the sneaky, sleuthy vibes, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Was this what set the tone for private-eye movies going forward, or was that already an established sound?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️