Twenty Favorite Grammy Nominated Records of the Year
(The actual winners couldn’t fill out a top-ten list for me, but I found more than twenty jewels among the full catalog of nominees. These are ranked in order of preference, with the songs that ended up winning their year marked with an asterisk.)
“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinéad O'Connor (1991)
“Yesterday” by The Beatles (1966)
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack (1973) *
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley (2007)
”Moon River” by Henry Mancini (1962) *
“Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson (1983)
“Every Breath You Take” by The Police (1984)
“Always On My Mind” by Willie Nelson (1983)
“She Drives Me Crazy” by Fine Young Cannibals (1990)
“Are You Lonesome Tonight?” by Elvis Presley (1961)
“Harper Valley PTA” by Jeannie Riley (1969)
“Fuck You” by CeeLo Green (2011)
“Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. (1992)
“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman (1989)
“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor (1980)
“Without You” by Nilsson (1973)
“Beat It” by Michael Jackson (1984) *
“Paper Planes” by M.I.A. (2009)
“Fire and Rain” by James Taylor (1971)
“The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley (1986)
— September 21, 2022