Every Grammys Best Traditional Folk Album winner

12 ceremonies, 2000–2011. 10 different winners.

It was awarded for the last time in 2011.

From 2012 the Grammys awarded Best Folk Album instead.

June Carter Cash ×2Various Artists ×2

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.

June Carter Cash'00

Dave Alvin'01

Various Artists'02

Doc Watson'03

June Carter Cash'04

Various Artists'05

Tim O'Brien'06

Bruce Springsteen'07

Levon Helm'08

Pete Seeger'09

Loudon Wainwright III'10

Carolina Chocolate Drops'11

Wins by label

2nd Story Sound18%
American Roots Publishing18%
Appleseed18%
Dualtone18%
High Windy18%
HighTone18%
Other650%

Who kept losing

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2011. Excludes 3 nominations credited to Various Artists, which names a compilation rather than an act.

Most nominated, never won

BeauSoleil2 noms
Jo-El Sonnier2 noms
Ramblin' Jack Elliott2 noms
Tom Paxton2 noms

Most losses

BeauSoleil2L · 0W
Jo-El Sonnier2L · 0W
Ramblin' Jack Elliott2L · 0W
Tom Paxton2L · 0W

The full list

Year	Winner	Label
2011	Carolina Chocolate Drops (Genuine Negro Jig) beat 4 others Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy (Onward and Upward) The John Hartford Stringband (Memories of John) Maria Muldaur (Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy) Ricky Skaggs (Ricky Skaggs Solo: Songs My Dad Loved)	Nonesuch
2010	Loudon Wainwright III (High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project) beat 4 others David Holt, Josh Goforth (Cutting Loose) Maura O'Connell (Naked With Friends) Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra (Polka Cola: Music That Refreshes) Various Artists (Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips)	2nd Story Sound
2009	Pete Seeger (At 89) beat 4 others Kathy Mattea (Coal) Tom Paxton (Comedians & Angels) Peggy Seeger (Bring Me Home) Rosalie Sorrels (Strangers In Another Country)	Appleseed
2008	Levon Helm (Dirt Farmer) beat 4 others David Bromberg (Try Me One More Time) Peter Case (Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John) Cathy Fink (Banjo Talkin) Charlie Louvin (Charlie Louvin)	Vanguard
2007	Bruce Springsteen (We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions) beat 4 others Ramblin' Jack Elliott (I Stand Alone) Odetta (Gotta Let It Shine) Linda Ronstadt, Ann Savoy (Adieu False Heart) Ralph Stanley (A Distant Land to Roam: Songs of the Carter Family)	Columbia
2006	Tim O'Brien (Fiddler's Green) beat 4 others The Chieftains for Live from Dublin (A Tribute to Derek Bell) Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Come On Back) Tom Paxton (Live In the UK) Jo-El Sonnier (Cajun Mardi Gras!)	Sugar Hill
2005	Various Artists (Beautiful Dreamer)unverified beat 4 others BeauSoleil (Gitane Cajun) Norman & Nancy Blake (The Morning Glory Ramblers) Rosalie Sorrels & Friends (My Last Go Round) Dave Van Ronk (...And the Tin Pan Bended, and the Story Ended...)	American Roots Publishing
2004	June Carter Cash (Wildwood Flower) beat 4 others Steve Forbert (Any Old Time) Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (Bon Reve) Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs (The Three Pickers) Pete Seeger & Friends (Seeds: The Songs of Pete Seeger, Volume 3)	Dualtone
2003	Doc Watson (Legacy) beat 5 others Fiddlers 4 (Michael Doucet, Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky, and Rushad Eggleston) (Fiddlers 4) Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer (Postcards) Jorma Kaukonen (Blue Country Heart) Peter Rowan, Don Edwards (High Lonesome Cowboy) Various Artists for Evangeline Made (A Tribute to Majun Music)	High Windy
2002	Various Artists (Down from the Mountain) beat 4 others BeauSoleil (Looking Back Tomorrow: Beausoleil Live!) John Hartford (Hamilton Ironworks) Roger McGuinn, Various Artists (Treasures from the Folk Den) Various Artists for Avalon Blues (A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt)	Lost Highway
2001	Dave Alvin (Public Domain) beat 4 others Norman Blake (Far Away, Down on a Georgia Farm) Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) Natalie MacMaster (My Roots Are Showing) Jo-El Sonnier (Cajun Blood)	HighTone
2000	June Carter Cash (Press On) beat 4 others Ramblin' Jack Elliott (The Long Ride) David Grisman, John Hartford, Mike Seeger (Retrograss) Bill Morrissey (Songs of Mississippi John Hurt) Doc & Richard Watson (Third Generation Blues)	Risk Records Dualtone

More Grammys categories

Album Record Song New Artist Gospel Album CCM Album Gospel Perf/Song CCM Perf/Song Roots Gospel Album Trad. Gospel Album R&B Gospel Album Pop Gospel Album Southern Gospel Album Latin Pop Album Latin Rock Album Latin Pop/Rock Album All 152 categories

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You’ve seen the whole history. This award is retired, but the Grammys are not. Put your picks on the record and run a live pool when the show comes back around.

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