20 Groundbreaking Grammy Album of the Year Wins Before Bad Bunny’s Historic Achievement
First and Only TV Soundtrack to Win: Henry Mancini, Music From Peter Gunn
Date Awarded: May 4, 1959
Notes: The album has gained greater recognition than the TV series, which aired for three seasons on NBC, starring Craig Stevens as the lead detective.
First Traditional Pop Album to Win: Frank Sinatra, Come Dance With Me!
Date Awarded: Nov. 29, 1959
Notes: Sinatra notably competed against himself at the inaugural Grammy Awards held earlier that year, as both Come Fly With Me and Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely were nominated. This led to a split in votes, prompting a subsequent change in nomination rules.
First Comedy Album to Win: Bob Newhart, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart
Date Awarded: April 12, 1961
Other Firsts: First debut album to win.
Notes: Newhart later became a television icon and was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1992.
First Album by a Woman to Win: Judy Garland, Judy at Carnegie Hall
Date Awarded: May 29, 1962
Other Firsts: First live album to win.
First Debut Album by a Musical Artist to Win: Barbra Streisand, The Barbra Streisand Album
Date Awarded: May 12, 1964
Notes: The album featured Streisand’s powerful rendition of the 1930s standard “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
First Jazz Album to Win: Stan Getz & João Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto
Date Awarded: April 13, 1965
Other Firsts: This was the first collaboration between artists who typically recorded solo to win, and the first album by an artist born outside the U.S. to achieve this recognition.
Notes: The album featured the famed track “The Girl From Ipanema,” credited to Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto.
First Rock Album to Win: The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Date Awarded: Feb. 29, 1968
Other Firsts: First album by a group and the first by an English act to win this prestigious award.
First Country Album to Win: Glen Campbell, By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Date Awarded: March 12, 1969
Notes: The album dominated the Top Country Albums chart for four weeks in early 1968. Campbell was also prominent on television with his series, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, which premiered shortly before the award was given.
First R&B Album to Win: Stevie Wonder, Innervisions
Date Awarded: March 2, 1974
Other Firsts: First album by a Black lead artist to win, following Billy Preston’s win as a featured artist the previous year.
Notes: The album topped the Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks in September 1973.
First Album by a Mixed-Gender Group to Win: Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
Date Awarded: Feb. 23, 1978
Other Firsts: The band was also the first mixed-nationality group to achieve this honor.
First Film Soundtrack to Win: Bee Gees & Various Artists, Saturday Night Fever
Date Awarded: Feb. 15, 1979
Notes: John Travolta, the lead actor of Saturday Night Fever, was also nominated that year for his contributions to the Grease soundtrack.
First Album by Artists Born After the Grammys Launched in 1959 to Win: U2, The Joshua Tree
Date Awarded: March 2, 1988
Other Firsts: First Irish act to win.
Notes: All members of U2 were born after the inaugural Grammy ceremony in 1959.
First Solo Debut Album to Win: George Michael, Faith
Date Awarded: Feb. 22, 1989
Notes: This marked Michael’s first solo project following his success with Wham!, where he earned two Grammy nominations.
First Hip-Hop Album to Win: Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Date Awarded: Feb. 24, 1999
Notes: Although classified as R&B at the time, Hill’s album later paved the way for the first rap album to win, which was Outkast’s Speakerboxxx: The Love Below in 2004.
First Album by a Latin Artist to Win: Santana, Supernatural
Date Awarded: Feb. 23, 2000
Notes: Carlos Santana led the band, which won eight Grammys that year, tying a record with Michael Jackson. The album featured the hit single “Smooth,” which also won record of the year.
First and Only Posthumously Released Album to Win: Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company
Date Awarded: Feb. 13, 2005
Notes: Released shortly after Charles’s death, this album made history as the only posthumous winner while another album released posthumously, John Lennon’s Double Fantasy, featured him alive at its launch.
First and Only Album by an All-Female Group to Win: Dixie Chicks, Taking the Long Way
Date Awarded: Feb. 11, 2007
Notes: In 2020, the group removed “Dixie” from their name amid discussions regarding race.
First Indie Rock Album to Win: Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
Date Awarded: Feb. 13, 2011
Other Firsts: The band became the first and only Canadian group to win.
First Electronic Music Album to Win: Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
Date Awarded: Jan. 26, 2014
Other Firsts: This album marked the first win by a French act.
First Album by an Artist Born in the 21st Century to Win: Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Date Awarded: Jan. 26, 2020
Notes: Eilish was born on Dec. 18, 2001.
First Album Not Recorded in English to Win: Bad Bunny, Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Date Awarded: Feb. 1, 2026
Other Firsts: This was the first win for an act from Puerto Rico.
