Top 20 Most Shocking Grammys Snubs

#20: ABBA

Popularity doesn’t always equate to awards success. Although ABBA has sold around 150 million records during their career and has become a multi-generational favorite, they’ve consistently been snubbed by the Academy. Their work in the 1970s and 80s was disregarded, despite it still holding cultural significance today. They didn’t receive their first nod until 2021, with their comeback single “I Still Have Faith in You”. Though they didn’t win, it set the stage for the subsequent album to be nominated the following year. All four prospective awards may have slipped through their fingers, but they were recognized in a way they hadn’t been previously. We can only hope they’ll reunite one more time for the chance to finally win one of those coveted trophies.

#19: The Velvet Underground

Some artists aren’t recognized until long after they stop creating new music. That was, unfortunately, the case for The Velvet Underground. Although they’re regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the most impactful rock groups of all time, you’d never know it by their lack of major awards. Their avant-garde 1967 debut album was completely ignored by the Academy, most likely due to its abrasive sound and themes. Their subsequent releases didn’t receive much fanfare either, and by the time they disbanded in 1973, they hadn’t been nominated once. The group was eventually honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, but their work and influence should’ve been recognized long before that point.

#18: Lana Del Rey

Legacy acts aren’t the only ones to have been pushed aside by the institution. Lana Del Rey has been passed over several times since her breakthrough in 2011. She has been nominated 11 times, with zero wins. Though the snubs date back to 2014, some of the most egregious occurred in the last few years. She released two critically acclaimed projects in 2019 and 2023, both of which were up for Album of the Year. However, she was bested by her contemporaries in both instances. This has led to her fans theorizing that she’d been blacklisted by the organization. Despite their suspicions they’re still holding out hope that she’ll one day be recognized.

#17: Run-D.M.C.

Despite shaping the sound of hip-hop as we know it, they’ve still been left in the dust by the Academy. Run-D.M.C. are widely beloved and indisputably one of the most influential acts in the genre. Yet, all they have to show for it from major associations are two nominations spaced out by decades. Their first loss came in 1987, when Prince and the Revolution’s “Kiss” bested “Raising Hell”. Their next nod occurred in the 2020s– not for their music, but for their contributions to their biographic miniseries “Kings from Queens”. They were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, a first for a hip-hop group. However, the fact that they weren’t recognized at their peak is baffling.

#16: The Beach Boys

Wouldn’t it be nice if they had won? Fans of The Beach Boys may think so, but the Academy doesn’t seem to agree. “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo” were nominated at the 9th and 31st ceremonies respectively, but both failed to nab the group a win. Otherwise, their catalog went overlooked at their peak. What’s even more bizarre is that their seminal album “Pet Sounds” wasn’t acknowledged by the organization at all, despite it now being considered one of the greatest albums in music history. They did receive a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, but they should have gotten far more recognition.

#15: Frank Ocean

Some artists may have taken home a trophy for a specific category, but have been seemingly shut out of the general field. Frank Ocean has experienced this firsthand, with his album “Channel Orange” only winning Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He lost Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year to fun., Gotye, and Mumford and Sons, leading to the Academy being accused of bias against certain genres. The losses have jaded him to the awards ceremony entirely. When he released “Blond” in 2016, he intentionally didn’t submit it. He even explained that he found the whole system to be out-of-date— and considering some of the snubs on this list alone, we can’t say he’s wrong.

#14: Björk

Across a span of nearly three decades, she’s been considered a whopping 16 times. Yet, Björk has yet to actually win a single Grammy. Her contributions to the alternative genre have solidified her legacy to both fans and critics. As such, she’s been put up for a variety of awards from the Academy, from Best Female Pop Vocal Performance to Best Alternative Music Album. Despite seven of her albums being nominated in the latter category, they have all been bested by other works released by her contemporaries. She’s still releasing new music and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. This has reignited hopes that she will win her first trophy sooner rather than later and get the recognition she deserves.

#13: Kendrick Lamar

With 22 trophies under his belt so far, it’s clear that the Recording Academy now understands and recognizes his talent. Yet, when Kendrick Lamar was first nominated by the organization at the 56th annual ceremony, he was passed over for every award he was up for. His losses to Macklemore for Best New Artist and every award in the rap category were seen as so egregious that the winner even reached out to him to apologize. The snub also led to backlash from viewers, some of whom felt the moment had exposed the industry’s biases against certain artists and genres. They’ve more than made up for it in the years since, but the fact that he still has yet to win Album of the Year is mind-boggling.

#12: Amy Winehouse

All it took was one category to completely derail her sweep at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Amy Winehouse cleaned up throughout the night, collecting trophies for Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. With a run like that, it seemed she was a shoo-in for Album of the Year as well. Instead, it went to Herbie Hancock for “River: The Joni Letters”. She didn’t release another project during her lifetime, and her next nomination was a posthumous one for a duet with Tony Bennett in 2011, which she won. Though Hancock’s win was important in its own right, it prevented her from dominating the only Grammys ceremony she’d experienced in her lifetime.

#11: Tupac Shakur

Whether it’s in life or death, the Academy has seemingly refused to give him his flowers. Though his career was cut short by his untimely death, Tupac is still considered to be one of the best rappers of all time. That translated into two Grammy nods for “Dear Mama” and “Me Against the World” in 1996, which he lost to Coolio and Naughty by Nature. He lost his life that same year, but his impact and talent carried on. In the years since, he’s received five posthumous nominations, but hasn’t won a single one. With the 30th anniversary of his death coming up, some have hope that he will soon be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

#10: Beyoncé

Since breaking out as a solo star in the 2000s, she’s become a mainstay both in pop culture and within the awards circuit. Though Beyoncé is no stranger to winning at the Grammys— particularly in the R&B category— she’s no stranger to being snubbed, either. For years, the general field remained out of her reach, with hits like “Halo” and “Irreplaceable” losing Record of the Year. Her longform work hasn’t fared much better. Her self-titled release controversially lost to Beck in 2015, and just two years later, “Lemonade” lost to Adele. The slights continued into the 2020s, with “Renaissance” losing to Harry Styles. She finally won Album of the Year for “Cowboy Carter” in 2025, in what is widely regarded as a long overdue victory.

#9: Diana Ross

She’s been awarded everything from a Golden Globe to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. However, a competitive Grammy award still remains out of her reach. Since launching her solo career, Diana Ross has been nominated 10 times by the Recording Academy. Whether it was for the R&B category or the general field, she has always been overlooked by the voters. The snubs carried on from the 20th century and into the 21st, when she lost a Grammy on the same night she was awarded her second Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with the Supremes. Between that and the one she received in 2012 for her solo work, it’s clear the association has prioritized her legacy over her current work.

#8: The Who

After decades in the industry, the fact they’ve only been nominated twice is astounding. The Who have been beloved as rock legends for generations. Unfortunately, that acclaim seems to have been missed by the Recording Academy. Despite their rich catalog, the only nods they’ve received during their tenure were for Best Long Form Music Video at the 33rd and 51st ceremonies. The fact that a band could be so influential yet so overlooked at the same time is baffling, to say the least. The Who were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to all the rewards they lost out on during their prime.

#7: Bob Marley

Considering the award for Best Reggae Album wasn’t created until after his untimely death, his absence of wins from that time is slightly more understandable. Bob Marley was criminally overlooked by the Grammys during his tenure, even as he and the Wailers were being recognized by other institutions. Considering the undeniable quality of his work and the fact that there have been posthumous releases under his name in the form of live and compilation albums, the fact that he hasn’t been nominated even once is a travesty. He was honored by the organization in 2001 with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Other than that, the only acknowledgement he’s received from the organization was when the film soundtrack to biopic “One Love” won the reggae category in 2025.

#6: Jimi Hendrix

Even an absolute legend can be pushed to the side by the awards circuit. Throughout Jimi Hendrix’s tragically short career, his albums were met with resounding critical and commercial success. This apparently wasn’t good enough for the Recording Academy, which only nominated Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance. His tragic passing in 1970 cut his blossoming career short and devastated a generation of rock fans. 12 years after his death, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award, but his legendary work should’ve earned him at least one trophy long before then.

#5: The Doors

At their peak, they were rightfully one of the best-selling bands of their time and released records that are still considered to be the best in the genre. The Doors’ initial impact may have been significant, but it didn’t have much bearing on their reputation with the Recording Academy. They have never been nominated at any stage of their career, both during frontman Jim Morrison’s life and afterwards. The only recognition they received from the Grammys was in 2007, when they were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Though it didn’t atone for the years of being ignored, it showed they held their work in some regard.

#4: The Weeknd

An artist being previously rewarded by the Academy doesn’t lessen the pain of their best work being ignored. The Weeknd has seen some success with the organization in the past, winning in the Urban Contemporary and R&B categories. He was left shocked when his 2020 album “After Hours” didn’t receive a single nomination, despite it being a critical and commercial success. He lambasted the voting body in a series of posts, calling them corrupt and even saying that it felt like a personal slight. Some sources even alleged he’d been shut out for performing at the Super Bowl. He was snubbed again at the 2025 ceremony— and it’s unclear if his public grievances have caused him to be blacklisted for good.

#3: Nirvana

They marked the clear transition into the 90s for rock music and continue to endure. Yet, the Recording Academy has given Nirvana minimal recognition. Their albums “Nevermind” and “In Utero” were nominated, but lost to R.E.M and U2. Two of their singles— including the iconic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” were nominated but failed to snag a single trophy for the band. They finally won in 1996 for their performance on “MTV Unplugged”, after Cobain’s untimely death and their subsequent disbandment. They also earned a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. But with how influential they were in such a short time, the fact that they were hardly recognized for it is a slap in the face to their artistry.

#2: Led Zeppelin

Some wins are too little, too late. In their prime, Led Zeppelin had an undeniable impact on the genre and the music industry as a whole. They received their first nomination for Best New Artist at the 12th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Crosby, Stills & Nash. The loss wouldn’t have been so bad— had they not been shut out completely. Despite a string of successful releases, the Academy never put them up for another award in the 20th century. It wasn’t until 2014 that their live concert album “Celebration Day” won Best Rock Album. The track list consisted of songs they’d recorded during their heyday, allowing the Academy to atone for years of snubs with one win.

#1: Queen

They may not have a competitive Grammy, but they’re still champions of the world and our hearts. Even with Freddie Mercury’s otherworldly vocals and the band’s impressive skills, they were never able to snag a trophy during the biggest night in music. “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Another One Bites The Dust” both received nods at the 19th and 23rd ceremonies, but were bested by other releases. They wouldn’t be nominated again, despite still releasing work throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. It wasn’t until 2018 that they were properly acknowledged for their contributions with a Lifetime Achievement Award. However, fans and casual listeners alike can agree that they should have won as a whole unit much sooner, before Mercury’s tragic passing in 1991.

Have any of your favorite artists ever been snubbed by the Grammys? Let us know in the comments below!