The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for quality albums in the country 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”.[2]
The award was first presented under the name of Best Country & Western Album in 1966 to Roger Miller for Dang Me/Chug-A-Lug and was discontinued the following year. In 1995 the category was revived and was presented as Best Country Album until 2025 before receiving its current denomination at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026 alongside the debut of a sister category Best Traditional Country Album.[3]
According to the category description guide for the 68th Grammy Awards (2026), the award “recognizes contemporary country music recordings, both vocal and instrumental, which utilize a stylistic intention, song structure, lyrical content, and/or musical presentation to create a sensibility that reflects the broad spectrum of contemporary country style and culture. The intent is to recognize country music that remains reminiscent and relevant to the legacy of country music’s culture, while also engaging in more contemporary music forms.”[4]
The Chicks are the most awarded performers in this category with four wins, followed by Chris Stapleton who has three wins. Two-time award winners include Roger Miller, Lady A, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert. Canadian singer Shania Twain is the only non-American winner in this category, to date. Trisha Yearwood holds the record for most nominations, with eight. Yearwood also holds the record for most nominations without a win. The current holder of the award is Jelly Roll, who won at the 68th Grammy Awards with his tenth studio album, Beautifully Broken.
Recipients
1960s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 [5] | ||
| Dang Me/Chug-a-Lug | Roger Miller | |
| The Best of Buck Owens | Buck Owens | |
| The Best of Jim Reeves | Jim Reeves | |
| Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian | Johnny Cash | |
| Guitar Country | Chet Atkins | |
| Hank Williams Jr. Sings the Songs of Hank Williams | Hank Williams Jr. | |
| 1966 [6] | ||
| The Return of Roger Miller | Roger Miller | |
| Father and Son: Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr. | Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr. | |
| The Jim Reeves Way | Jim Reeves | |
| More of That Guitar Country | Chet Atkins | |
| My World | Eddy Arnold |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
Artists with multiple wins
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Artists with multiple nominations
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See also
References
- General
- “Past Winners Search”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 4, 2011. Note: User must select the “Country” category as the genre under the search feature.
- “Grammy Awards: Best Country Album”. Rock on the Net. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ “Grammy Awards at a Glance”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ “Overview”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Newman, Melinda (June 12, 2025). “The Grammys Add New Country Category for 2026”. Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Sullivan, Kevin P. (June 13, 2025). “Inside the Grammy category changes: How Best Country Album has been split and what it means”. Gold Derby. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ “1964 Grammy Awards”. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
- ^ “1965 Grammy Awards”. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
- ^ “The 37th Grammy Nominations”. Los Angeles Times. January 6, 1995. p. 2. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “List of Grammy nominees”. CNN. January 4, 1996. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Babyface is up for 12 Grammy awards”. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 8, 1997. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “40th Annual Grammy Award Nominations”. Digital Hit. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
- ^ “1999 Grammy Nominees”. NME. IPC Media. November 27, 1998. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “42nd Annual Grammy Awards nominations”. CNN. January 4, 2000. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ “43rd Grammy Awards”. CNN. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Complete List Of Grammy Nominees”. CBS News. January 4, 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “45 Grammy Nom List” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 26, 2012.
- ^ “They’re All Contenders”. The New York Times. December 5, 2003. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Grammy Award nominees in top categories”. USA Today. Gannett Company. February 7, 2005. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “The Complete List of Grammy Nominations”. The New York Times. December 8, 2005. p. 1. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “49th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Grammy 2008 Winners List”. MTV. February 10, 2008. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Grammy 2009 Winners List”. MTV. February 8, 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List”. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ^ “2011 – 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees And Winners: Country Field”. The Recording Academy. November 30, 2011.
- ^ “2012 – 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees And Winners: Country Field”. The Recording Academy. December 5, 2011.
- ^ “2014 Nominees” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ^ “Grammys 2017: Complete list of winners and nominees”. Los Angeles Times. February 12, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ “Grammy Awards Winners List: Updating Live”. Variety. January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ^ Grammy.com, 7 December 2018
- ^ “2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Winners List”. GRAMMY.com. November 20, 2019.
- ^ “2021 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners List”. GRAMMY.com. November 24, 2020.
- ^ “2022 GRAMMYs Awards: Complete Nominations List”. GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2021.
- ^ “2023 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List”. GRAMMY.com. November 16, 2022.
- ^ “2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com”. www.grammy.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ “2025 GRAMMYs: See The OFFICIAL Full Nominations List | GRAMMY.com”. grammy.com. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ Faulkner, Clara (November 7, 2025). “2026 GRAMMYS: See The Full Nominations List”. Grammy.com.