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The 15 best albums that never won a Grammy
The Beatles

The 15 best albums that never won a Grammy

It's no secret that the Grammy awards don't always get it right. So, prior to the Grammys giving the awards to all the wrong people this year, let's remember all those times the Grammys gave the awards to the wrong people in the past.

Yes, dear readers, these 15 legendary albums never won a single Grammy.

 
1 of 15

Nas - "Illmatic"

Nas - "Illmatic"
Wikipedia

Sure, "Illmatic" came out before the award for Best Rap Album was even established, but looking back, it was one of the year's best and most influential albums. It set the stage for what rap music would become, and is rightfully legendary today.

 
2 of 15

Queen - "A Night At The Opera"

Queen - "A Night At The Opera"
The Studio Collection - Queen

Yeah, I'm as surprised as you. Apparently the strength of "You're My Best Friend," "I'm In Love With My Car," and oh yeah, "Bohemian Rhapsody," weren't enough to get Queen a Grammy for this amazing album.

 
3 of 15

Katy Perry - "Teenage Dream"

Katy Perry - "Teenage Dream"
Amazon

There were, like, a gajillion #1 hit songs on Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" -- and even that wasn't enough to win it a Grammy for overall Album of the Year. It wasn't even enough to give it a win in its own category. It got a nomination, sure, but it lost out to Arcade Fire.

I'm sure she was devastated when she went home without a single Grammy win that year, all the way up until she took a bath in the pile of money from "Teenage Dream's" album sales.

 
4 of 15

Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"

Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"
Wikipedia

Again, yes, this is before rappers had an album of the year category to themselves, but Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" was one of the most influential albums of all time -- not just in its own genre, but in any genre. It wasn't even nominated in the year of its release (1988), which is absolutely crazy.

 
5 of 15

Guns N' Roses - "Appetite for Destruction"

Guns N' Roses - "Appetite for Destruction"
Wikipedia

The Grammys are notorious for missing the mark on rock albums, and they really screwed up here. No matter how you feel about Guns N' Roses's cheesy brand of rock music, "Appetite for Destruction" deserved recognition. I mean, for real? "Paradise City"? "Sweet Child o' Mine"? "Welcome to the Jungle"? What else were they supposed to do?

 
6 of 15

Talking Heads - "Remain In Light"

Talking Heads - "Remain In Light"
Wikipedia

This one -kinda- makes sense. The Talking Heads were always just a bit too weird for the Grammy awards. Now, that doesn't make "Remain in Light" (that's the one with "Once In A Lifetime" on it, if you weren't clear) any worse of an album, it's more of a reflection on the Grammy awards themselves than anything else.

 
7 of 15

David Bowie - "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"

David Bowie - "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"
Wikipedia

The same argument could be used for this album, I suppose. That said, this legendary David Bowie album was much more accessible, and set the tone for the future of rock music as a whole. Oh, and by the way, it pretty much originated the genre of glam rock. Can we give it Album of the Year in retrospect?

 
8 of 15

Bob Marley & the Wailers - "Exodus"

Bob Marley & the Wailers - "Exodus"
Vibe

I really could have picked any Bob Marley album here -- the man never won a Grammy. But the fact that "Exodus," the album with both "One Love/People Get Ready" and "Jamming" on it was not honored by the Grammy committee is particularly egregious.

 
9 of 15

AC/DC - "Back In Black"

AC/DC - "Back In Black"
Wikipedia

The Grammys just don't like rock that's any harder than, say, Bruce Springsteen. There's no other explanation for the fact that AC/DC's best album never won a Grammy.

 
10 of 15

The Beatles - "Abbey Road"

The Beatles - "Abbey Road"
The Beatles

The Fab Four won themselves their fair share of Grammy awards, but at the same time, it's odd that their (arguably) best album couldn't take home Album of the Year awards in 1970. The honor went to Blood, Sweat & Tears instead.

 
11 of 15

Nirvana - "Nevermind"

Nirvana - "Nevermind"
Nirvana

You all know the story here. Nirvana's masterpiece was utterly snubbed by the Grammys when it released, despite the fact that, in retrospect, it not only established grunge as a genre but also killed hair metal at the same time.

 
12 of 15

Led Zeppelin - "Led Zeppelin IV"

Led Zeppelin - "Led Zeppelin IV"
Wikipedia

Remember what we said about the Grammys and rock music? Yeah. Apparently releasing what was, arguably, the best rock song of all time in "Stairway to Heaven" (alongside countless other classics) was not enough to snag Led Zeppelin a Grammy for the album.

 
13 of 15

Rolling Stones - "Some Girls"

Rolling Stones - "Some Girls"
The Rolling Stones

For some reason, "Some Girls" was never as popular with the Grammy committee as it should have been. From "Beast of Burden" to "Shattered," many of the Stones' best songs found a home on the album, but apparently that was not enough to win them a Grammy for the record.

 
14 of 15

Daft Punk - "Discovery"

Daft Punk - "Discovery"
Wikipedia

"Discovery." Yup. The album with "One More Time," "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," and countless other classic Daft Punk tracks couldn't even take home Album of the Year honors in the dance category. The robots would simply have to make do with revolutionizing the house music genre. 

 
15 of 15

Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon"

Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon"
Amoeba Music

Wait, this can't be right.

*furious typing*

This has to be an elaborate prank. One that is apparently being put on by Google, Wikipedia, the people that run the Grammy website, and... it looks like... pretty much every other website out there. That's impressive! 

Because the alternative, that "Dark Side of the Moon," one of the best rock albums of all time from front to back, did not win a single Grammy, is just... well... that's ridiculous. That can't be right. 

Sam Greszes is unlockable by beating the game on Very Hard difficulty without losing a life. You must then defeat him to unlock him for Arcade and Versus modes. You can follow him on Twitter @samgreszeseses, and check out his podcast with David Rappoccio here. He also hosts weekly twitch streams at twitch.tv/robotsfightingdinosaurs.

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