TheGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album is an award presented at theGrammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for quality albums in thecountry music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]
The award was first presented under the name ofBest Country & Western Album in 1966 toRoger Miller forDang Me/Chug-A-Lug and was discontinued the following year. In 1995 the category was revived and was presented asBest Country Album until 2025 before receiving its current denomination at the68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026 alongside the debut of a sister categoryBest Traditional Country Album.[3] This follows Beyoncé’sCowboy Carter winning Best Country Album at the 2025 Grammys marking the second instance where the Recording Academy introduced a new category or rule change in the wake of a win tied to her genre-defying ‘acts’ trilogy.
The first came afterBreak My Soul andRenaissance took home Dance honors at the2023 Grammys, prompting the creation of the Best Pop Dance Recording category. At the time, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Dance Field’s Screening Committee had initially recommended moving the album toBest Pop Vocal Album, but the National Screening Committee ultimately voted to keep it in Dance/Electronic. According to the category description guide for the68th Grammy Awards (2026), the award "recognizes contemporary country music recordings, both vocal and instrumental, which utilize a stylistic intention, song structure, lyrical content, and/or musical presentation to create a sensibility that reflects the broad spectrum of contemporary country style and culture. The intent is to recognize country music that remains reminiscent and relevant to the legacy of country music’s culture, while also engaging in more contemporary music forms."[4]
TheDixie Chicks are the most awarded performers in this category with four wins, followed byChris Stapleton who has three wins. Two-time award winners includeRoger Miller,Lady A,Kacey Musgraves andMiranda Lambert. Canadian singerShania Twain is the only non-American winner in this category, to date.Trisha Yearwood holds the record for most nominations, with eight. Yearwood also holds the record for most nominations without a win. The current holder of the award isBeyonce, the first black artist, who won at the67th Grammy Awards with her eighth studio albumCowboy Carter.
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