The Grammy Award is presented by the Recording Academy, an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry, for outstanding achievements in musical recordings. It is the approximate equivalent, in the music world, to the Oscarss.

Like the Oscars, the Grammys, currently with a total of 105 categories within 30 fields of music (such as pop, gospel, and rap), are voted by peers - in this case voting members of the Recording Academy.

The awards are named for the trophy given for them, a small gilded stauette of a gramophone. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammys are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.

The Grammy voters tend to be elderly, musically conservative, and are heavily marketed to by record companies, who place great stock in some types of artists winning Grammys (accurately but cynically put as those which sell to "teenage girls and housewives"). Therefore, the main Grammys tend to go to either well-established acts or those which fall into the above categories. Hence, the Grammys are not taken particularly seriously by many musicians or music fans.

Awards include:

• Record of the Year
• Album of the Year
• Song of the Year
• Best New Artist
• Grammy Hall of Fame

• Best Alternative Music Album

• Best Traditional Blues Album
• Best Contemporary Blues Album

• Best Album for Children
• Best Musical Album for Children
• Best Spoken Word Album for Children

• Best Orchestral Performance
• Best Classical Vocal Performance
• Best Classical Performance, Operatic or Choral
• Best Opera Recording
• Best Choral Performance
• Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra)
• Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)
• Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)
• Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without conductor)
• Best Chamber Music Performance
• Best Classical Contemporary Composition
• Best Classical Album
• Best Classical Crossover Album
• Best New Classical Artist

• Best Comedy Album

• Best Instrumental Composition
• Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (now in the "Film/TV/Media" field)
• Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (now in the "film/TV/media" field)
• Best Arrangement
• Best Instrumental Arrangement
• Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
• Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance
• Best Country Performance, Duo or Group - Vocal or Instrumental
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
• Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
• Best Country Instrumental Performance
• Best Country & Western Recording
• Best Country & Western Single
• Best Country Song
• Best Country Album
• Best Bluegrass Album
• Best New Country & Western Artist

• Best Dance Recording

• Best Disco Recording

• Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
• Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (previously in the "composing and arranging" field)
• Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (previously in the "composing and arranging" field)

• Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
• Best Traditional Folk Album
• Best Contemporary Folk Album
• Best Native American Music Album

• Best Gospel Performance
• Best Gospel Performance, Traditional
• Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary
• Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female
• Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male
• Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus
• Best Soul Gospel Performance
• Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional
• Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary
• Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female
• Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male
• Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male or Female
• Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus
• Best Inspirational Performance
• Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album
• Best Rock Gospel Album
• Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
• Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album
• Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album
• Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album

• Best Historical Album

• Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, Instrumental - Also cont. Jazz Performance Vocal or Instrumental
• Best Jazz Vocal
• Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist
• Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group
• Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance
• Best Latin Jazz Performance

• Best Latin Pop Performance
• Best Tropical Latin Performance
• Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance
• Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance
• Best Tejano Music Performance
• Best Salsa Performance
• Best Merengue Performance

• Best Musical Show Album

• Best Music Video, Short Form
• Best Music Video, Long Form

• Best New Age Album

• Best Album Package - Incl. Album Cover, Graphic Arts, Photography
• Best Recording Package - Boxed
• Best Album Notes

• Best Polka Album

• Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
• Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
• Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
• Best Pop Instrumental Performance
• Best Pop Vocal Album
• Best Dance Recording
• Best Pop Instrumental Album
• Best Contemporary Song
• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female
• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male
• Best Contemporary Vocal Performance By a Group
• Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance

• Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
• Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
• Best Classical Engineered Recording
• Classical Producer Of The Year
• Remixer Of The Year

• Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
• Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
• Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
• Best R&B Song
• Best R&B Album
• Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance

• Best Female Rap Solo Performance
• Best Male Rap Solo Performance
• Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
• Best Rap Song
• Best Rap Album

• Best Reggae Album

• Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
• Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
• Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
• Best Hard Rock Performance
• Best Metal Performance
• Best Rock Instrumental Performance
• Best Rock Song
• Best Rock Album

• Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Album

• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance

• Best World Music Album

Awards by year

Years reflect the year in which the awards were presented, for music released in the previous year.