List of Grammy Award categories


The Grammy Awards are awarded in a series of categories, each of which isolates a specific contribution to the recording industry. The standard awards list nominees in each category, from which a winner is selected. In 1959, in the first award ceremony, 28 Grammys were awarded. The number of awards has grown over time as new categories are added; at one time, over 100 awards were given. The number has also fluctuated as some older ones were removed. For the upcoming 2026 ceremony, there are 96 categories, an increase of two from the previous year.
Some special awards are awarded without nomination in eight categories ranging from "Lifetime Achievement" to "Technical."

General Field

The General Field contains six standard awards for musical works which do not restrict nominees by genre or other criteria; these awards are voted on by all members of the Academy.

Genre-specific fields

In the General Field, but not including special awards, there are 95 award categories; these were consolidated into 11 fields.

Special merit awards

There are special awards that are awarded without nominations, typically covering a period of time longer than the past year, which the standard awards apply to.
  • Dr. Dre Global Impact Award is a CEO Merit Award for artists whose dedication to the art form has greatly influenced the industry. The award is reserved only for Black individuals or groups.
  • Lifetime Achievement Award is a Special Merit Award presented to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
  • Trustees Award is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording.
  • Technical Grammy Award is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals and/or companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
  • Legend Award is a Special Merit Award presented to individuals or groups for ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field; it was inaugurated in 1990.
  • Hall of Fame Award was established in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Winners are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts.
  • The MusiCares Person of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize a musician who has made an outstanding contribution to music and in addition has been active in works of philanthropy. This award is presented by the MusiCares foundation annually.
  • Best Song for Social Change is a Special Merit Award determined by a blue ribbon committee and ratified by the Recording Academy Board of Trustees. Submissions must contain lyrical content that addresses a timely social issue and promotes understanding, peacebuilding and empathy.

Changes in the 2010s

2012
On April 6, 2011 the Recording Academy announced a major overhaul of many Grammy Award categories. In 2012, the number of categories fell from 109 to 78. Some categories were discontinued, others were merged or renamed; notably merging gender specific categories.
2013
On June 8, 2012, the Academy announced a few changes as of 2013, including the addition of three new categories: Best Classical Compendium, Best Latin Jazz Album and Best Urban Contemporary Album. This meant the number of categories in 2013 rose to 81.
According to the Academy, the Best Classical Compendium is "for an album collection containing newly recorded material of performances by various soloist and/or ensemble involving a mixture of classical subgenres." Albums entered in this category cannot be entered in other classical album categories, but individual tracks can.
The intent for the newly formed Best Latin Jazz Album is "to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinean tango music."
The new Best Urban Contemporary Album category is for albums with contemporary songs derivative of R&B. It is for artists who blend contemporary styles with R&B music, such as urban pop, urban rock and/or urban alternative.
Other changes for the 2013 Grammy Award season were:
2014
Changes were made in 2014. One was the introduction of a new category, Best American Roots Song, which encompasses all subgenres in the American roots music field such as Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk and regional roots music. The award will be presented to the songwriter.
The Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category, introduced in 2012, was split and recognises metal performances only. It was renamed Best Metal Performance. Hard rock performances are screened in the Best Rock Performance category, thus losing its own genre award.
The two Music Video categories were renamed. The Best Short Form Music Video became the Best Music Video category, while Best Long Form Music Video is now Best Music Film. The rules and description of these two categories did not change. Also new for 2014 was the Music Educator Award. It recognizes "current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools."
2015
The Recording Academy introduced further changes beginning on the 2015 ceremony: particularly allowing samples or interpolations of previously written songs in all songwriting categories, most notably the Song of the Year category.
Additional changes include:
The introduction of the changed will push the total number of categories to 83.
2017
In June 2016, the Grammy organization announced changes to the voting and awarding process.
Recordings released solely through streaming services became eligible to enter the award process. These recordings must be available through streaming platforms. Applicable streaming services are paid subscription, full catalog, on-demand streaming/limited download platforms that have existed as such within the United States for at least one full year as of the submission deadline. All recordings entered must have an assigned International Standard Recording Code.
Best New Artist rules were amended to remove the album barrier given trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted; many new artists first release singles, tracks, or EPs rather than full albums. To become eligible in the category of Best New Artist, the artist, duo, or group:
  • Must have released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album, but no more than 30 singles/tracks or three albums.
  • May not have entered the category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group.
  • Must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the eligibility period.
The Best Blues Album category was split back into two distinct categories, as they were prior to 2012:
The Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category was renamed as Best Rap/Sung Performance to allow solo performances, a result of "the current state and future trajectory of rap by expanding the category beyond collaborations between rappers and vocalists to include recordings by a solo artist who blurs the lines between rapping and singing."
Additional amendments were made to the number and type of music creators recognized in the categories of Best Choral Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album.