18 iconic artists who have never won album of the year at the Grammys

Beyoncé recently lost album of the year for the fourth time.

Despite being one of this century’s most creative, consistent, and culturally significant album artists, Queen Bey has never won the top prize at the Grammys.

She was nominated in 2010 for “I Am… Sasha Fierce,” 2015 for “Beyoncé,” 2017 for “Lemonade,” and 2023 for “Renaissance,” but lost to Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele, and Harry Styles, respectively.

In fact, out of Beyoncé’s record-breaking 32 wins, only one has been in a general-field category: song of the year for “Single Ladies” in 2010.

Kendrick Lamar also lost his fourth bid for the top prize in 2023.

Save for his debut, all of Kendrick Lamar’s studio albums have been contenders for the biggest Grammy Award: “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” “To Pimp a Butterfly,” “Damn,” and most recently, “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.”

He has won best rap album three times — not to mention a Pulitzer Prize — but never album of the year. 

Mariah Carey has been nominated three times.

Mariah Carey has been named Billboard’s top-selling female artist of all time. As of writing, she boasts 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — just one shy of the all-time record set by The Beatles — and is the only artist to top the chart in four separate decades.

Yet Carey has lost all three of her bids for album of the year. She received her first nomination in 1991 for her self-titled LP but lost to Quincy Jones.

She was later nominated for “Daydream” in 1996 and “The Emancipation of Mimi” in 2006, but lost to Alanis Morissette and U2, respectively.

Drake is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, but he has yet to win album of the year.

Just two albums in Drake’s record-breaking catalog have been up for album of the year: “Views” in 2017 and “Scorpion” in 2019. They lost to “25” by Adele and “Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves, respectively.

Although Drake has criticized the ceremony’s relevance — both onstage and on social media — he resumed submitting his music for consideration with the 2022 album “Her Loss,” which received four nods, but only in rap categories.

Jay-Z has been nominated for album of the year only once. He lost to Bruno Mars.

“4:44” is the only album in Jay-Z’s legendary oeuvre that has been up for album of the year.

Jay-Z has been nominated five other times as a contributor or producer on other people’s albums (“Tha Carter III,” “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” “Beyoncé,” “Donda,” and “Renaissance”), but he didn’t win any of those, either.

In 2024, Jay-Z openly criticized the Recording Academy’s history of snubs during his acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.

Rihanna’s “Loud” lost to Adele’s “21.”

Rihanna has largely pivoted to business ventures in recent years, but for several years, she was a hit-making machine.

During Rihanna’s reign over the charts, only “Loud” was nominated for album of the year.

Her eighth and most acclaimed album to date, “Anti,” somehow wasn’t up for the award, despite racking up six other nominations in 2017, including best urban contemporary album.

Eminem has lost album of the year three times.

Eminem received his first nod for album of the year in 2001 for “The Marshall Mathers LP,” but lost to “Two Against Nature” by Steely Dan.” 

He has been nominated two more times, in 2003 for “The Eminem Show” and in 2011 for “Recovery,” but lost to Norah Jones and Arcade Fire, respectively.

Björk has never won a single Grammy.

Björk has only received nods in genre-specific categories — most recently best alternative music album for “Fossora” in 2023 — but has lost all 16 of her nominations.

Bruce Springsteen has lost album of the year twice.

Bruce Springsteen is one of the biggest winners in Grammy history with 20 awards, but he has still never won album of the year. 

The Boss has been nominated just twice: in 1985 for “Born in the U.S.A.” and in 2003 for “Rising.” (Shockingly, he got no love for “Nebraska.”)

Madonna’s “Ray of Light” lost her sole bid in 1999.

Lauryn Hill took home the biggest Grammy Award in 1999 for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” becoming the first hip-hop artist to do so.

Many of Madonna’s groundbreaking albums, including “Like a Prayer,” “Erotica,” and “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” never received a nod for album of the year — or, for that matter, a nod in any of the high-profile general-field categories.

Nirvana was never nominated for album of the year.

Nirvana received just five Grammy nominations during Kurt Cobain’s lifetime, and none were in the “Big Four” categories.

The groundbreaking band won just one award: best alternative music performance for “MTV Unplugged in New York,” bestowed nearly one year after Cobain’s death.