By now, music fans have grown accustomed to the fact that the list of albums they love rarely matches up with the list of albums that win Grammys. But sometimes Grammy voters don't just bypass the best music -- they blow off what seem like obvious shoo-ins. Some of the confusion around nominations stems from the awards' unusual eligibility periods -- September 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010 -- but how could they have missed...
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" for Record of the Year
Ubiquitous enough to have been covered by "Glee" and 30 Seconds to Mars (yes, really), Gaga's monster jam was one of the year's catchiest megahits with good reason: It's a near-perfect pop composition. It went to Number Two on the Hot 100, and sold more than 4 million digital copies. While the song picked up a nod for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, it certainly deserved a shot at one of the three biggest awards of the year.
Justin Bieber's "Baby" for "Record of the Year"
In 2000, 'N Sync sold the most albums but only walked away with three Grammy nominations; this year, teen superstar Bieber mustered two. While we can debate the merits of "Baby" until Bieber is of legal voting age, you can't deny his power -- he's the youngest solo male artist to hit Number One since Stevie Wonder, and his musicianship has earned compliments from some of the industry's most respected players.
Michael Jackson's "This Is It" for Best Long Form Music Video
Documentaries about Rush, the Doors, and the White Stripes picked up nominations, but "This Is It," the fantastic film tracking the King of Pop's rehearsals for what could have been a mind-blowing comeback show, didn't warrant a nod. The footage in this movie was on another level, recounting the final musical moments of one of the greatest artists to ever live: "This Is It" should have moon-walked away with the prize.
Sade for Album of the Year
Vanish for a decade, return with one of the best-reviewed albums of 2010 and still get shut out of the major races? Two songs from "Soldier of Love" earned R&B and Pop category nods, but this still counts as a serious miss.
Train's "Hey Soul Sister" for Record of the Year
The band scored a nomination for a live version of this unbelievably, annoyingly, unavoidable song for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals, but that was it. They even came to play the weirdo Grammy Nominations Concert!
Big Boi for Best Rap Album
The Academy rewarded newbie MCs Drake and B.o.B. with nominations, but couldn't find a spot for one-half of OutKast. Dude deserved a trophy for the name of his disc alone: "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty."
LCD Soundsystem and Robyn for Best Electronic/Dance Album
Do the Grammy voters dislike fun? Hate insanely brilliant dance-floor jams? "This Is Happening" and any of Robyn's "Body Talk" discs will be making most critics' best-of lists this year for one simple reason: They are the best.
See Also:
• 2010 Grammy Noms: Good News for Eminem, Bad News for Rock & Roll
• Weirdest Grammy Nods: Woody Allen, Pixies, Chris Brown and More
[Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com]