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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Contemp. Blues Album.

33 ceremonies, 1988–2025. 22 different winners. The longest run belongs to The Robert Cray Band, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Ruthie Foster in 2025 for Mileage.
Who has won the most?
Buddy Guy, 4 wins (1992, 1994, 1996, 2011).
  1. MileageRuthie Foster
  2. Blood HarmonyLarkin Poe
  3. Brother JohnnyEdgar Winter
  4. 662Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
  5. Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?Fantastic Negrito
  6. This LandGary Clark Jr.
Years explored
1988–2025
Different winners
22
Category leader
Buddy Guy · 4
About this record

Best Contemporary Blues Album was first awarded in 1988, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

No contemporary blues award was given from 2012 to 2016, when it and Best Traditional Blues Album shared a single Best Blues Album category.

2000–2025

21 ceremonies

19882025

01 / The reigns

18 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Fantastic Negrito3 wins
  2. 02
    Delbert McClinton2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run. Outlined blocks are years the award was not presented.
The Robert Cray Band'00
Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band'01
Delbert McClinton'02
Solomon Burke'03
Etta James'04
Keb' Mo''05
Delbert McClinton'06
Irma Thomas'07
J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton'08
Dr. John and the Lower 911'09
The Derek Trucks Band'10
Buddy Guy'11
'12–'16not awarded
Fantastic Negrito'17
Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo''18
Fantastic Negrito'19
Gary Clark Jr.'20
Fantastic Negrito'21
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram'22
Edgar Winter'23
Larkin Poe'24
Ruthie Foster'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Cooking Vinyl leads the recorded label credits with 2 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Cooking Vinyl2 wins
Independent2 wins
New West2 wins
4291 win
Alligator1 win
Blackball Universe1 win
Wins by label
  1. Cooking Vinyl210%
  2. Independent210%
  3. New West210%
  4. 42915%
  5. Alligator15%
  6. Blackball Universe15%
  7. Other1257%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    North Mississippi Allstars
    5 noms
  2. 02
    Bettye LaVette
    4 noms
  3. 03
    Shemekia Copeland
    4 noms
  4. 04
    Charlie Musselwhite
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Susan Tedeschi
    3 noms
  6. 06
    Dr. John
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    North Mississippi Allstars
    5L · 0W
  2. 02
    Bettye LaVette
    4L · 0W
  3. 03
    Shemekia Copeland
    4L · 0W
  4. 04
    Charlie Musselwhite
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Solomon Burke
    3L · 1W
  6. 06
    Susan Tedeschi
    3L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2025Ruthie Foster (Mileage)
beat 4 others
  • Shemekia Copeland (Blame It on Eve)
  • Joe Bonamassa (Blues Deluxe Vol. 2)
  • Steve Cropper and the Midnight Hour (Friendlytown)
  • Antonio Vergara (The Fury)
Sun
2024Larkin Poe (Blood Harmony)
beat 4 others
  • Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton (Death Wish Blues)
  • Ruthie Foster (Healing Time)
  • Bettye LaVette (LaVette!)
  • Christone "Kingfish" Ingram (Live in London)
Tricki-Woo
2023Edgar Winter (Brother Johnny)
beat 4 others
  • Ben Harper (Bloodline Maintenance)
  • Eric Gales (Crown)
  • Shemekia Copeland (Done Come Too Far)
  • North Mississippi Allstars (Set Sail)
Quarto Valley
2022Christone "Kingfish" Ingram (662)
beat 4 others
  • The Black Keys featuring Eric Deaton and Kenny Brown (Delta Kream)
  • Steve Cropper (Fire It Up)
  • Joe Bonamassa (Royal Tea)
  • Shemekia Copeland (Uncivil War)
Alligator
2021Fantastic Negrito (Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?)
beat 4 others
  • Bettye LaVette (Blackbirds)
  • G. Love (The Juice)
  • Ruthie Foster Big Band (Live at the Paramount)
  • North Mississippi Allstars (Up and Rolling)
Cooking Vinyl
2020Gary Clark Jr. (This Land)
beat 4 others
  • Robert Randolph and the Family Band (Brighter Days)
  • Southern Avenue (Keep On)
  • Sugaray Rayford (Somebody Save Me)
  • Larkin Poe (Venom & Faith)
Warner Bros.
2019Fantastic Negrito (Please Don't Be Dead)
beat 4 others
  • Danielle Nicole (Cry No More)
  • Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps (Here in Babylon)
  • Boz Scaggs (Out of the Blues)
  • Victor Wainwright and the Train (Victor Wainwright and the Train)
Cooking Vinyl/Blackball Universe
2018Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' (TajMo)
beat 4 others
  • Robert Randolph and the Family Band (Got Soul)
  • Tedeschi Trucks Band (Live from the Fox Oakland)
  • Sonny Landreth (Recorded Live in Lafayette)
  • Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm (Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm)
Concord
2017Fantastic Negrito (The Last Days of Oakland)
beat 4 others
  • Kenny Neal (Bloodline)
  • Joe Louis Walker (Everybody Wants a Piece)
  • The Record Company (Give It Back to You)
  • Janiva Magness (Love Wins Again)
Blackball Universe
2011Buddy Guy (Living Proof)
beat 4 others
  • Bettye LaVette (Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook)
  • Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band featuring Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Bryan Lee and Buddy Flett (Live! in Chicago)
  • Solomon Burke (Nothing's Impossible)
  • Dr. John and the Lower 911 (Tribal)
Silvertone/Jive
2010The Derek Trucks Band (Already Free)
beat 4 others
  • Susan Tedeschi (Back to the River)
  • Mavis Staples (Live: Hope at the Hideout)
  • The Robert Cray Band (This Time)
  • Ruthie Foster (The Truth According to Ruthie Foster)
Legacy/Columbia
2009Dr. John and the Lower 911 (City That Care Forgot)
beat 4 others
  • Solomon Burke (Like a Fire)
  • Taj Mahal (Maestro)
  • Marcia Ball (Peace, Love & BBQ)
  • Irma Thomas (Simply Grand)
429/Cooking Vinyl
2008J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton (The Road to Escondido)
beat 4 others
  • Joan Armatrading (Into the Blues)
  • Doyle Bramhall (Is It News)
  • Bettye LaVette (The Scene of the Crime)
  • Robben Ford (Truth)
Duck/Reprise
2007Irma Thomas (After the Rain)
beat 4 others
  • Susan Tedeschi (Hope and Desire)
  • The Robert Cray Band (Live from Across the Pond)
  • Dr. John and the Lower 911 (Sippiana Hericane)
  • Keb' Mo' (Suitcase)
Rounder
2006Delbert McClinton (Cost of Living)
beat 4 others
  • Buddy Guy (Bring 'Em In)
  • North Mississippi Allstars (Electric Blue Watermelon)
  • Solomon Burke (Make Do with What You Got)
  • The Robert Cray Band (Twenty)
New West
2005Keb' Mo' (Keep It Simple)
beat 4 others
  • Johnny Winter (I'm a Bluesman)
  • Dr. John (N'Awlinz Dis Dat or d'Udda)
  • Charlie Musselwhite (Sanctuary)
  • Van Morrison (What's Wrong with This Picture?)
Okeh/Epic
2004Etta James (Let's Roll)
beat 4 others
  • Howard Tate (Rediscovered)
  • Sonny Landreth (The Road We're On)
  • Marcia Ball (So Many Rivers)
  • Susan Tedeschi (Wait for Me)
Private Music
2003Solomon Burke (Don't Give Up on Me)
beat 4 others
  • North Mississippi Allstars (51 Phantom)
  • Etta James and The Roots Band (Burnin' Down the House)
  • Charlie Musselwhite (One Night in America)
  • Delbert McClinton (Room to Breathe)
Fat Possum/Anti-
2002Delbert McClinton (Nothing Personal)
beat 4 others
  • Dr. John (Creole Moon)
  • Keb' Mo' (The Door)
  • Etta James (Matriarch of the Blues)
  • Buddy Guy (Sweet Tea)
New West
2001Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band (Shoutin' in Key)
beat 4 others
  • Bobby Rush (Hoochie Man)
  • Koko Taylor (Royal Blue)
  • North Mississippi Allstars (Shake Hands with Shorty)
  • Shemekia Copeland (Wicked)
Hannibal
2000The Robert Cray Band (Take Your Shoes Off)
beat 4 others
  • Charlie Musselwhite (Continental Drifter)
  • Luther Allison (Live in Chicago)
  • Jonny Lang (Wander This World)
  • Little Milton (Welcome to Little Milton)
Rykodisc