| Record of the Year |
"Don't Worry Be Happy", Bobby McFerrin |
| Album of the Year |
Faith, George Michael (Columbia/CBS) |
| Song of the Year |
"Don't Worry Be Happy", Bobby McFerrin, songwriter |
| Best New Artist |
Tracy Chapman |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male |
"Don't Worry Be Happy", Bobby McFerrin |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female |
"Fast Car", Tracy Chapman |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal |
Brasil, Manhattan Transfer |
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) |
Close-up, David Sanborn |
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male
 Robert Palmer
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"Simply Irresistible", Robert Palmer |
| Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female |
Tina Live in Europe, Tina Turner |
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal |
"Desire", U2 |
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) |
Blues for Salvador, Carlos Santana |
| Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Vocal or Instrumental |
Crest of a Knave, Jethro Tull |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Song |
"Giving You the Best That I Got", Anita Baker, Skip Scarborough and Randy Holland, songwriters |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male |
Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, Terence Trent D'Arby |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female |
"Giving You the Best That I Got", Anita Baker |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal |
"Love Overboard", Gladys Knight and the Pips |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) |
"Light Years", Chick Corea |
| Best Rap Performance |
"Parents Just Don't Understand", D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince |
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male |
Brothers, Bobby McFerrin |
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female |
Look What I Got!, Betty Carter |
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group |
"Spread Love", Take 6 |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist on a Jazz Recording |
Don't Try This at Home, Michael Brecker |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group |
Blues for Coltrane, A Tribute to John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, David Murray, Cecil McBee and Roy Haynes |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band |
Bud and Bird, Gil Evans and the Monday Night Orchestra |
| Best Jazz Fusion Performance |
Politics, Yellowjackets |
| Best Country Song |
"Hold Me", K.T. Oslin, songwriter |
| Best Country Vocal Performance, Male |
Old 8 × 10, Randy Travis |
| Best Country Vocal Performance, Female |
"Hold Me", K.T. Oslin |
| Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal |
"Give a Little Love", Judds |
| Best Country Vocal Collaboration |
"Crying", Roy Orbison and k.d. lang |
| Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloists) |
"Sugarfoot Rag", Asleep at the Wheel |
| Best Bluegrass Recording (Vocal or Instrumental) |
Southern Flavor, Bill Monroe (MCA) |
| Best Gospel Performance, Male |
Christmas, Larnelle Harris |
| Best Gospel Performance, Female |
Lead Me On, Amy Grant |
| Best Gospel Performance By a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus |
The Winans Live at Carnegie Hall, Winans |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male |
"Abundant Life", BeBe Winans |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female |
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, Aretha Franklin |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance By a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus |
Take Six, Take 6 |
| Best Latin Pop Performance |
Roberto Carlos, Roberto Carlos |
| Best Tropical Latin Performance |
Antecedente, Rubén Blades |
| Best Mexican/American Performance |
Canciones de Mi Padre, Linda Ronstadt |
| Best Traditional Blues Recording |
Hidden Charms, Willie Dixon (Bug/Capitol) |
| Best Contemporary Blues Recording |
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", Robert Cray Band (Mercury) |
| Best Traditional Folk Recording |
Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, various artists (Columbia/CBS) |
| Best Contemporary Folk Recording |
Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (Elektra) |
| Best Reggae Recording |
Conscious Party, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers (Virgin) |
| Best New Age Performance |
Folksongs for a Nuclear Village, Shadowfax |
| Best Polka Recording |
Born to Polka, Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra (Starr) |
| Best Arrangement on an Instrumental |
"Memos From Paradise", Roger Kellaway, arranger |
| Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) |
"No One Is Alone", Jonathan Tunick, arranger |
| Best Instrumental Composition |
"The Theme From L.A. Law", Mike Post, composer |
| Best Musical Cast Show Album |
Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist (RCA) |
| Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television |
The Last Emperor, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su, composers (Virgin) |
| Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television |
"Two Hearts” (From the motion picture Buster), Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier, songwriters (Atlantic) |
| Best Contemporary Composition |
Nixon in China, John Adams, composer |
| Best Classical Album |
Verdi, Requiem and Operatic Choruses, Robert Shaw conducting Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Telarc) |
| Best Orchestral Recording |
Rorem, String Symphony; Sunday Morning, Eagles; Robert Shaw conducting Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: String Symphony, Louis Lane conducting Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: Sunday Morning and Eagles (New World) |
| Best Chamber Music Performance (Instrumental or Vocal) |
Bartók, Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion; Brahms, Variation on a Theme by Joseph Haydn for Two Pianos, Murray Perahia and Sir Georg Solti, pianos; David Corkhill and Evelyn Glennie, percussion |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With Orchestra) |
Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, Vladimir Horowitz, piano; Giulini conducting LaScala Opera Orchestra |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (Without Orchestra) |
Albéniz, Iberia; Navarra; Suite Espagnola, Alicia de Larrocha |
| Best Opera Recording |
Wagner, Lohengrin, Sir Georg Solti conducting Vienna State Opera Choir and Vienna Philharmonic; solos: Domingo, Norman, Randova, Nimsgern, Sotin and Fischer-Dieskau (London) |
| Best Choral Performance (Other Than Opera) |
Verdi, Requiem and Operatic Choruses, Robert Shaw conducting Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra |
| Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance |
Luciano Pavarotti in Concert, Luciano Pavarotti |
| Best Comedy Recording |
Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams (A&M) |
| Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording |
"Speech by Rev. Jesse Jackson (July 27)", Rev. Jesse Jackson (Arista) |
| Best Recording for Children |
Pecos Bill, Robin Williams, narrator; Ry Cooder, music (Windham Hill) |
| Best Album Package |
Tired of Runnin', Bill Johnson, art director (Columbia/CBS) |
| Best Album Notes |
Crossroads, Anthony DeCurtis, annotator (Polydor) |
| Best Historical Album |
Crossroads, Eric Clapton (Polydor) |
| Best Performance Music Video |
"Where the Streets Have No Name", U2 |
| Best Concept Music Video |
"Fat", "Weird Al” Yankovic |
| Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) |
Neil Dorfsman |
| Classical Producer of the Year |
Robert Woods |
