Grammy-Nominated Albums on Vinyl

Sound & Color, by Alabama Shakes
After spending a few years in near-total obscurity, Alabama Shakes blossomed in 2015 with Sound & Color, a widely-praised album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Led by guitarist/singer lead Brittany Howard, the Shakes’ earthy, gritty, and earnestly soulful sound borrows from rhythm and blues and classic rock, and this Grammy-nominated album sees them dipping into other influences as well. The band listened to everything from shoegaze to protopunk bands like the MC5 during their songwriting process, and the variance in their sound says a lot for that approach. “Future People,” “Dunes,” and “Shoegaze” are the standouts on this album, available on clear vinyl from Barnes & Noble.

To Pimp a Butterfly, by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s third album, released in March 2015 to widespread critical and commercial acclaim, broadens Kendrick’s range of influences to include funk, spoken word, and jazz. The presence of Dr. Dre and Pharrell (among many others) as producers on this album should be taken as a sign that Kendrick’s music is getting slicker and more upscale. That doesn’t mean it’s getting less real, though; Kendrick has a lot to say about how America treats its African-American community. “Wesley’s Theory” suggests a purposeful lack of financial education for black men, and “King Kunta” takes aim at ghostwriters in hip-hop.

Traveller, by Chris Stapleton
It’s not every year that someone’s debut album gets a Grammy nomination, but that’s what happened with country/bluegrass musician Chris Stapleton’s Traveller. Patterned after country albums from the late 1970s, the songs on Traveller are introspective, sad, and ultimately determined to go their own way. The album’s lyrics have gotten a lot of compliments; Stapleton was a songwriter for Adele, Tim McGraw, Peter Frampton, and Sheryl Crow, among many others, and he clearly learned a lot from those experiences. His gift for nuance is impressive, especially on “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” and “Tennessee Whiskey” is proof that he’s good at straightforward, crying-in-your-beer drinking songs, too.

1989, by Taylor Swift
Plenty of Grammy-winning albums have recognized the impermanence of youth, but 1989 is one that recognizes, and celebrates, its own youth. Named for Taylor Swift’s birth year, and for the 1980s influence throughout the album, 1989 is her first real pop album, as opposed to the country sound of her previous efforts; “Shake It Off” began the internet’s sudden love affair with her, and songs like “Style” and “Blank Space” justify it. Swift claims Madonna, Annie Lennox, and Fine Young Cannibals as influences for this album, and you can definitely hear echoes of all three, but they don’t impede Swift’s reach for a timeless sound.

Beauty Behind the Madness, by the Weeknd
Canadian singer/producer the Weeknd has been criticized for making “PBR&B,” a snarky term for synthesizer-driven R&B music made by and for hipsters, but don’t let that kind of snark turn you away from his music; the Weeknd is the real deal. With a voice reminiscent of young Michael Jackson and a Prince-inspired sound heavy on slow tempos and echoing bass, the Weeknd has plenty of old school chops to compliment his lyrics, which are at once vulgar, lonely, and anxious. While unorthodox, his songwriting is a more varied, and honest, alternative to traditional R&B lyrics, best heard in “Tell Your Friends,” “Often,” “Earned It,” which appeared on the soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey, and “Prisoner,” which has a guest vocal spot from Lana Del Rey.