Oh, those Grammy nominations always get people ranting, usually against the often-clueless Recording Academy. So in analyzing the 50th annual nominations, which were announced Thursday morning in Hollywood, let's dispense with the obvious contenders and focus on the surprises, both good and bad.

Controversial rapper Kanye West snagged eight nods, including album of the year, for his megaselling Graduation. If this shocks you, turn in your pop-culture membership card immediately. Equally expected were tabloid queen Amy Winehouse's six nominations. She got four big ones: best new artist, album of the year for Back to Black and record and song of the year for "Rehab."

The only question regarding Ms. Winehouse: Will she be sober enough to attend the Grammy Awards on Feb. 10?

OK, with those out of the way, let's peruse the contenders that made us gasp, the ones that made us snicker and the ones that made us fume.

Country's respected singer-songwriter Vince Gill stuns us all with his album-of-the-year turn for These Days. It's rare, but not impossible, for a country album to compete in the big category. But These Days isn't your usual country effort. It's four discs of self-penned new tunes separated into styles (bluegrass, ballads, etc.), a gargantuan effort that garnered glowing reviews but so-so sales.

Still, Mr. Gill is a Grammy darling. He has 18 of those prized gramophones, the most of any country artist. He's well-liked by the industry even if mainstream country radio no longer has any use for his carefully crafted music.

AP

Kanye West led the way with eight nominations, including album of the year.

Back to album of the year: Herbie Hancock's paean to Joni Mitchell, River: The Joni Letters, gets in but Bruce Springsteen's acclaimed Magic does not? The New Jersey rocker has 15 Grammys, none for album of the year. Benchmark discs such as 1984's Born in the USA and 2002's The Rising were in the running but didn't win. What's it gonna take?

Let's move to the best-new-artist category, always a Grammy wild card. Relatively obscure acts Ledisi, Paramore and Feist join Ms. Winehouse and teen country sensation Taylor Swift. Most people probably read Ledisi's name and exclaimed, "Who?" The New Orleans R&B singer's major-label debut, Lost & Found, followed two independent releases. Lost & Found made a bit of noise, peaking at No. 78 on Billboard's pop albums chart and No. 10 on the R&B list, but it hardly established her as a well-known name.

Yet where's Daughtry, the former American Idol finalist who earned modern-rock cred and crossed over to pop with "It's Not Over," the huge single from his group's 3 million-selling debut CD? Sure, he has four nominations in lesser categories but he should have been named for best new artist, too. And for that matter, where's Bucky Covington, another Idol contestant who released the best country record from that franchise?

Finally, skimming farther down the endless list of nominations, we stop on best female country vocal performance. Four great nominees and one dud. Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, Alison Krauss and Trisha Yearwood, all deserving, compete against Carrie Underwood. Who do you think will win? Of course it will be the barely mediocre Ms. Underwood, who took home two Grammys last year.

Her victory will make us angry all over again.

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Nominees for Album Of The Year are:

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace — Foo Fighters

These Days — Vince Gill

River: The Joni Letters — Herbie Hancock

Graduation — Kanye West

Back To Black — Amy Winehouse

Nominees for Record Of The Year are:

"Irreplaceable" — Beyoncé

"The Pretender" — Foo Fighters

"Umbrella" — Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z

"What Goes Around…Comes Around" — Justin Timberlake

"Rehab" — Amy Winehouse

Best New Artist nominees are:

Feist

Ledisi

Paramore

Taylor Swift

Amy Winehouse

Song Of The Year nominees include:

"Before He Cheats" — John Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)

"Hey There Delilah" — Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T's)

"Like A Star" — Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)

"Rehab" — Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)

"Umbrella" — Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell, Terius "Dream" Nash & Christopher Stewart, songwriters (Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z)

POP FIELD

Nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album go to:

Lost Highway — Bon Jovi

The Reminder — Feist

It Won't Be Soon Before Long — Maroon 5

Memory Almost Full — Paul McCartney

Back To Black — Amy Winehouse

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals nods go to:

"Steppin' Out" — Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera

"Beautiful Liar" — Beyoncé & Shakira

"Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

"The Sweet Escape" — Gwen Stefani & Akon

"Give It To Me" — Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Instrumental Performance nominees are:

"Off The Grid" — Beastie Boys

"Paris Sunrise #7" — Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

"Over The Rainbow" — Dave Koz

"One Week Last Summer" — Joni Mitchell

"Simple Pleasures" — Spyro Gyra

DANCE FIELD

For Best Dance Recording, the nominees are:

"Do It Again" — The Chemical Brothers

"D.A.N.C.E." — Justice

"Love Today" — Mika

"Don't Stop The Music" —Rihanna

"Love Stoned/I Think She Knows" — Justin Timberlake

ROCK FIELD

Nominations for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance go to:

"Timebomb" — Beck

"Only Mama Knows" — Paul McCartney

"Our Country" — John Mellencamp

"Radio Nowhere" — Bruce Springsteen

"Come On" — Lucinda Williams

Best Rock Album nominees are:

Daughtry — Daughtry

Revival — John Fogerty

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace — Foo Fighters

Magic — Bruce Springsteen Sky Blue Sky — Wilco

Nods for Best Rock Song go to:

"Come On" — Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams)

"Icky Thump" — Jack White, songwriter (The White Stripes)

"It's Not Over" — Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett Young, songwriters (Daughtry)

"The Pretender" — Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Chris Shiflett, songwriters (Foo Fighters)

"Radio Nowhere" — Bruce Springsteen, songwriters (Bruce Springsteen)

R&B FIELD

Nominees for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals are:

"Same Girl" — R. Kelly Featuring Usher

"Disrespectful" — Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige

"Hate That I Love You" — Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo

"Baby" — Angie Stone Featuring Betty Wright

"Bartender" — T-Pain Featuring Akon

For Best Contemporary R&B album, the nominees are:

Konvicted — Akon

Just Like You — Keyshia Cole

Fantasia — Fantasia

East Side Story — Emily King

Because Of You — Ne-Yo

Best Urban/Alternative Performance nods go to:

"Make A Baby" — Vikter Duplaix

"That's The Way Of The World" — Dwele

"Daydreamin'" — Lupe Fiasco Featuring Jill Scott

"Fantasy" — Meshell Ndegeocello

"Dream" — Alice Smith

RAP FIELD

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration nods go to:

"I Wanna Love You" — Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg

"Kiss, Kiss" — Chris Brown & T-Pain

"Let It Go" — Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil' Kim

"Umbrella" — Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z

"Good Life" — Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

Nominees for Best Rap Song are:

"Ayo Technology" — N. Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters

(50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)

"Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" — Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)

"Can't Tell Me Nothing" — A. Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)

"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" — Soulja Boy Tell'Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell'Em)

"Good Life" — A. Davis, F. Najm & K. West, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)

For Best Rap Album, the nominees are:

Finding Forever — Common

Kingdom Come — Jay-Z

Hip Hop Is Dead — Nas

T.I. vs T.I.P. — T.I.

Graduation — Kanye West

COUNTRY FIELD

Nods for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals go to:

"Days Aren't Long Enough" — Steve Earle & Allison Moorer

"Because Of You" — Reba McEntire & Kelly Clarkson

"I Need You" — Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

"Lost Highway" — Willie Nelson & Ray Price

"Oh Love" — Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood

For Best Country Song, the nominees are:

"Before He Cheats" — Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)

"Give It Away" — Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon & Jamey Johnson, songwriters (George Strait)

"I Need You" — Tony Lane & David Lee, songwriters (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill)

"If You're Reading This" — Tim McGraw, Brad Warren & Brett Warren, songwriters (Tim McGraw)

"Long Trip Alone" — Brett Beavers, Dierks Bentley & Steve Bogard, songwriters (Dierks Bentley)

Nominations for Best Country Album are:

Long Trip Alone — Dierks Bentley

These Days — Vince Gill

Let It Go — Tim McGraw

5th Gear — Brad Paisley

It Just Comes Natural — George Strait

JAZZ FIELD

For Best Contemporary Jazz Album, the nominees are:

Party Hats — Will Bernard

Downright Upright — Brian Bromberg

Re-Imagination — Eldar

River: The Joni Letters — Herbie Hancock

He Had A Hat — Jeff Lorber

Nods for Best Jazz Vocal Album go to:

Avant Gershwin — Patti Austin

Red Earth — A Malian Journey — Dee Dee Bridgewater

Music Maestro Please — Freddy Cole

Nightmoves — Kurt Elling

On The Other Side — Tierney Sutton

This year's Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical nominations go to: Howard Benson, Joe Chiccarelli, Mike Elizondo, Mark Ronson, and Timbaland

In the newly added Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album category, nominations go to: Le Cowboy Creole (Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie), King Cake (Lisa Haley), Live: Á La Blue Moon (Lost Bayou Ramblers), Blues De Musicien (Pine Leaf Boys), Racines (Racines), The La Louisianne Sessions (Roddie Romero And The Hub City All-Stars), and Live! Worldwide (Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience).

In the Latin Field, Best Latin Rock, Alternative Or Urban Album has now been split into two categories. Nominations for Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album are: No Hay Espacio (Black:Guayaba), Adelantando (Jarabe De Palo), Amantes Sunt Amentes (Panda), Kamikaze (Rabanes), Memo Rex Commander Y El Corazón Atómico De La Via Láctea (Zoé). For Best Latin Urban Album, nods go to: E.S.L. (Akwid), El Abayarde Contra-Ataca (Tego Calderón), Residente O Visitante (Calle 13), El Cartel: The Big Boss (Daddy Yankee), and Vacaneria! (Fulanito).

Associated Press, the Recording Academy