47 of the best albums in history that weren't nominated for album of the year at the Grammys

Many thought The Weeknd's "After Hours" was a frontrunner for album of the year at the 2021 Grammy Awards.Duncan Loudon

• The most prestigious category at the Grammys is album of the year (AOTY).
• Some of the most beloved albums in history, however — like Rihanna's "Anti," Nirvana's "Nevermind," and The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" — weren't even up for the award.
• Most recently, Fiona Apple's "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" and The Weeknd's "After Hours" were both snubbed by the Recording Academy for the 2021 nominations.
• The 47 best albums of all time that weren't nominated in this category are listed below, in reverse chronological order.

As you'll often hear artists proclaim, it's an honor just to be nominated at the Grammy Awards.

If true, then the greatest honor is to be nominated for album of the year (often abbreviated as AOTY), which is widely seen as the ceremony's most prestigious category. As the Washington Post notes, it's "a prize whose responsibility to bottle the zeitgeist is right there in its name."

Some of the most beloved albums in the Grammys' near 63-year history, however, didn't simply lose a bid for the coveted trophy. A shocking number — including seminal projects like Rihanna's "Anti," Nirvana's "Nevermind," and The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" — weren't even up for the award.

We rounded up the 47 best albums of all time that weren't nominated for AOTY. They're listed below in reverse chronological order.