While there have been some historic Grammy Award wins throughout the years, there have also been a plethora of snubs. There's no denying Michael Jackson's Thriller deserved Album of The Year at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Other choices, however, have raised eyebrows, like Beyoncé never winning Album of The Year until Cowboy Carter in 2025, despite being the most-awarded artist in Grammy history. There's also a long list of accomplished artists who have never taken home a Grammy at all. For example, Katy Perry has never been awarded the golden gramophone, despite being one of the 2010s' biggest pop stars.

The Grammys are always a tight race with so many deserving winners and only one trophy per category. However, the Academy has received a lot of backlash for its controversial choices. Most prominently, the Grammys have been called out for their lack of awarding Black artists. Since the first Grammy Award ceremony in 1959, only 11 Black artists have won Album of The Year, and only two were women. Despite the backlash, the Grammys haven't done much to fix their inclusivity issues. Despite some good choices, for every deserving Grammy winner, there is a snub that will not be forgotten.

10 Beyoncé's Self-Titled Album Lost Album Of The Year

Beyoncé Lost At The 2015 Grammy Awards

Beyoncé's many Album of The Year losses have been one of the most talked about snubs in Grammy history. However, the most devastating loss was when Beck's Morning Phase beat Beyoncé's self-titled album. What made the album so impressive was that it was a surprise drop. There was no promo and no mention of an album at all; she simply dropped it on iTunes and sent her fans into a frenzy. It became one of the most talked about albums of the year with seven singles, including "Drunk in Love" and "Flawless (Remix)".

Beyoncé's Album of The Year loss in 2017 for Lemonade would have been a more devastating blow had the winner, Adele, not broken her own trophy to share it with Beyoncé, who she felt had deserved the win more than herself.

With no pre-release promo, it still went #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, proving her star power. Aside from its success, the album had some impressive tracks, including the beautiful ballad "Blue" written for her daughter Blue Ivy, who was also featured on the song. Beck's win even prompted Kanye West to follow him on stage in a reenactment of his Taylor Swift VMA incident, causing the audience to burst into laughter and applause.

9 Taylor Swift's "All Too Well" Lost Song Of The Year

Swift Lost At The 2023 Grammy Awards

Song of The Year is an award presented to the songwriters on a track rather than the artist performing it. So it's quite shocking that despite taking home 14 Grammys, four of which were for Album of The Year, Taylor Swift has never won the award. Swift is a prolific songwriter and arguably the best of her generation. While she's been nominated for the award several times, the most upsetting loss was at the 2023 Grammys ceremony.

Swift was up for Song of The Year for "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" from Red (Taylor's Version). Many had referred to the song as her magnum opus and believed she was a shoo-in for the award. Unfortunately, when it was time to announce the winner, presenter and former First Lady Jill Biden announced Bonnie Raitt's "Just Like That" had won instead. While Raitt crafted a beautiful song, it was unfortunate to see Swift snubbed again for a category she's deserved to win in for over a decade.

8 Mariah Carey's "Hero" Lost Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Carey Lost At The 1995 Grammy Awards

Mariah Carey has only won 5 Grammys in her career despite being nominated over 30 times. The singer made waves in the music industry when she debuted in the early 90s, but most of her most prominent work has sadly been ignored. Unfortunately, one of Carey's most moving songs did not win the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "Hero" was initially written for the Dustin Hoffman film Hero before Mariah Carey chose to keep it for herself.

The ballad ultimately lost to Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do." The song went on to have a lasting shelf life, though, and Carey even performed it at the 2001 America: A Tribute to Heroes, a tribute concert after 9/11. The song's empowering lyrics helped the world through one of the toughest times in American history.

7 Madonna's Like A Virgin Was Snubbed

The Album & Song Were Not Nominated

Madonna has taken home 7 Grammys in her career, yet none of her wins were for her early work. In fact, the singer wasn't even nominated for a Grammy until 1986. The biggest Grammy snub, though, would be that Madonna's hit "Like A Virgin" and the album of the same name received no nominations. It's hard to comprehend how someone who was so influential in pop music was snubbed so many times.

However, it could be linked to Madonna's unapologetic nature. "Like A Virgin" was a highly controversial song at the time of its release, especially after her 1984 VMA performance. It's likely the Grammys wanted no part in the scandal, so they decided to leave the song off the nominations list. Still, it feels cruel that the singer wasn't honored for such an influential record and song.

6 Katy Perry's Teenage Dream Lost Album Of The Year

Perry Lost At The 2011 Grammy Awards

In 2010, Katy Perry released what would become a defining pop album of the decade. Perry took over the airways with her singles, becoming the first artist since Michael Jackson to have five #1 singles off of one album. She would be given the Special Achievement award at the 2011 American Music Awards for this record. Unfortunately, she did not receive the same love at the Grammys. Despite being a massive success when released, Perry did not win Album of The Year in 2011.

Ironically, Michael Jackson's Bad, the album Perry's Teenage Dream shares its singles record with, was also snubbed at the Grammys, as he lost in every category at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

Instead, Arcade Fire accepted the award for their album The Suburbs. It felt unfair that such a successful album with an incredible tracklist was not honored for its impact on pop music. Teenage Dream not only included pop hits like "California Gurls" and "Firework", but also some ballads that pulled at heartstrings like "The One That Got Away" and "Pearl." Out of all the times Katy Perry has lost at the Grammys, Teenage Dream's loss was the worst.

5 Elvis Presley's Music Was Mostly Snubbed

Elvis Never Won For His Best Known Songs

According to Guinness, Elvis Presley is the best-selling solo artist of all time, but his success is not reflected in his Grammy wins. The King of Rock 'n' Roll has only won 3 awards, none of which were for his most prominent songs. In fact, all three awards were in the Best Inspirational Performance category. Presley was never nominated for Album of The Year, and songs like "Burning Love," "Suspicious Minds," and "Can't Help Falling In Love" were shut out of all categories.

It's baffling that so many of Presley's best-known hits were snubbed by the Academy, even though it's not unusual for the Grammys to leave out so many deserving artists. Luckily, his lack of nominations didn't hurt his legacy, as he is still one of the most iconic artists of all time. Despite that, it's shocking to know that this iconic work was never recognized by a stage as grand and important as the Grammys.

4 Britney Spears' Oops!...I Did It Again Lost Best Pop Vocal Album

Spears Lost At The 2001 Grammy Awards

After the pop legacies of Madonna and Janet Jackson, Britney Spears stepped onto the scene as the new pop princess. Spears defined the late 90s and 2000s era of pop music, and it's hard to look back at that time period without seeing her influence. From her controversial outfit choices to criticism of her lip-syncing, the new millennium belonged to Britney Spears. However, when it came to the Grammys, the Academy didn't see what she brought to the table. Spears only ever won a Grammy for "Toxic" in the Best Dance Recording category.

While all her losses and lack of nominations were upsetting, Oops!...I Did It Again losing Best Pop Vocal Album was disheartening. The album sold 1.3 million copies in its first week, and for over a decade, it was the highest first-week sales for a female solo artist ever. The Pop Vocal Album award ultimately went to Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, an unusual choice considering the album fit much better in the rock category.

3 Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City Lost Best Rap Album

Lamar Lost At The 2014 Grammy Awards

Kendrick Lamar had a big year with his 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. Unfortunately, the same year it was nominated, he was up against Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who had pretty much dominated the music industry when they released "Thrift Shop." The rap duo won Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards, which wasn't necessarily fair to Lamar.

The Grammys already had a history of snubbing Black artists in non-R&B categories, so giving the Best Rap Album award to white artists added to the frustration. Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City was also a great album, and it jumpstarted his music industry takeover. At least in 2025, Kendrick Lamar took home the Grammy for both Record and Song of The Year for "Not Like Us", winning in two of the major categories.

2 Björk's Vespertine Lost Best Alternative Album

Björk Lost At The 2002 Grammy Awards

Björk's unique musical style has had a major impact on alternative music. Still, the singer has never taken home a Grammy Award. However, in 2002, it seemed like she would finally get her flowers when Vespertine was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album. Sadly, the award went to Coldplay's Parachutes instead. While the Coldplay album was a massive success and no doubt deserved Grammy recognition, it was still unfortunate to see Björk lose again.

After all, Coldplay's music falls more into the rock category and has had much more mainstream success than other alternative artists. The band was even nominated in the rock category for their song "Yellow" the same night they beat Björk in the alternative category. This is what made it such a snub for Björk, pouring salt into a fresh wound.

1 Prince's Purple Rain Lost Album Of The Year

Prince Lost At The 1985 Grammy Awards

Prince is one of the most successful and impactful artists to have never won a Grammy for Album of The Year. Purple Rain was a defining album in his career and is still listed as one of the best-selling albums of all time. Next to Michael Jackson's Thriller, it was also a prominent album of the 80s decade. Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down won over Prince in 1985, but it's a pretty popular opinion that Purple Rain should have won.

Of all Grammy snubs, this was one of the worst in history. Luckily, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. However, the Academy should have honored Prince's work much earlier. The Grammys have made a lot of mistakes throughout its history, but they might never recover from their Prince snub.