Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album

The Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the bluegrass music genre. 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".

Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording (Vocal or Instrumental), the award was first presented in 1989. In 1990 and 1991, the category was renamed Best Bluegrass Recording, and in 1990, the award was reserved for singles rather than albums. Since 1992, the award has been presented under the category Best Bluegrass Album. Beginning in 1993, award recipients often included the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists. In 1995 and 1997, producers of compilation albums were the only award recipients.

The inaugural recipient of the award was Bill Monroe, widely considered to be the founder of the genre. Alison Krauss has the most wins in the category, with six, including five with her band Union Station who are tied with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for second most wins. Jim Lauderdale, Nashville Bluegrass Band, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are the only other acts to have won more than once, with two awards each. Del McCoury holds the record for most nominations, with ten, while Doyle Lawson, Noam Pickelny, Peter Rowan, and The Seldom Scene have the most nominations without a win, with four. In 2018, the first tie in the history of the category occurred, with the award being presented to both Rhonda Vincent and The Infamous Stringdusters. The current recipient of the award is Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, who won at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Recipients

^{^[I]} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
^{^[II]} Awards were presented to Jerry Douglas and Tut Taylor as the producers of the album.
^{^[III]} An award was presented to Todd Phillips as the producer of the album.

Artists with multiple wins

6 wins

• Alison Krauss

5 wins

• Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
• Union Station

2 wins

• Jim Lauderdale
• Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
• Nashville Bluegrass Band

Artists with multiple nominations

10 nominations

• Del McCoury

9 nominations

• Del McCoury Band
• Ralph Stanley
• Ricky Skaggs

7 nominations

6 nominations

• Jim Lauderdale
• Union Station

5 nominations

• Jerry Douglas

4 nominations

• Doyle Lawson
• Noam Pikelny
• Peter Rowan
• The Seldom Scene

3 nominations

2 nominations

Notes

See also

• International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame
• List of Grammy Award categories

References

1. Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
2. Billy Strings
3. The Infamous Stringdusters
4. Bluegrass (album)
5. Home (Billy Strings album)
6. Grammy Award for Best Americana Album
7. Rhonda Vincent
8. Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album
9. Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
10. Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album
11. The SteelDrivers
12. Steep Canyon Rangers
13. The Seldom Scene
14. Live (Alison Krauss album)
15. Every Time You Say Goodbye
16. Nickel Creek
17. Steve Martin
18. New Favorite
19. Crooked Tree (album)
20. Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical