While genres like pop, rock and R&B tend to make the most headlines at the Grammy Awards and fill most slots in the four general field categories — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist — the Grammys cast a much wider net every year, honoring the best in fields as diverse as jazz, classical, new age, spoken-word and much more. The list of the Grammys’ most awarded artists of all time is just as diverse.
The most awarded musicians of all time include rap, country, rock and classical winners, and they range from singers to composers to conductors. But while the list is musically diverse, it does predominantly skew towards solo male artists. There is only one group in the top 13 (Irish rockers U2), and only two women (country darling Alison Krauss and R&B star Beyonce).
Perhaps surprisingly, most of the top winners are still living and thus can continue adding to their Grammy totals. So scroll down to find out who the cream of the crop are. Are you surprised by any of the names on the list? Are you surprised by any who aren’t on the list (yet)?
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Vince Gill (22 wins)
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Vince Gill has been a country music favorite at the Grammys since his first victory in 1991. To date his awards have been limited to the country, American roots and gospel categories, though he did pick up an Album of the Year nom for “These Days” in 2008.
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U2 (22 wins)
Image Credit: Debby Wong/Variety The rock band U2 is the most awarded group in Grammy history. They won for the first time in 1987, when they claimed Album of the Year (“The Joshua Tree”). Their most recent victories were in 2005, when they won Album of the Year again (“How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”).
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Jay-Z (24 wins)
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Jay-Z has been a dominant force in hip hop since winning his first ever award in 1998: Best Rap Album for “Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life.” But to date he has only ever won once outside of rap & R&B genre categories: Best Music Video for “Suit and Tie” with Justin Timberlake.
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Kanye West (24 wins)
Image Credit: Andrew H. Walker/WWD Kanye West has accumulated his 21 Grammys in even less time than his frequent collaborator Jay-Z. He won three awards in rap and R&B categories in 2004, and then he kept winning almost every year until 2013, when he received his most recent plaudits. But despite multiple nominations for Album of the Year he has never won outside of rap and R&B genre categories.
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Vladimir Horowitz (25 wins)
Image Credit: Adam Scull-PHOTOlink.ne/Newscom/The Mega Agency Russian-born Vladimir Horowitz was a classical pianist who won Best Classical Album six times over the course of his career. He died in 1989, but he was so beloved that he won two last awards posthumously: Best Classical Performance in 1990 (“The Last Recording”) and 1992 (“Horowitz: Discovered Treasures”).
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Stevie Wonder (25 wins)
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety Not only is Stevie Wonder one of the most honored musicians in Grammy history, he’s also one of a small number of individuals to win Album of the Year three times: “Innervisions” (1973), “Fulfillingness’ First Finale” (1974) and “Songs in the Key of Life” (1976).
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Pierre Boulez (26 wins)
Image Credit: Philippe Gras / Le Pictorium/Newscom/The Mega Agency Pierre Boulez was a French composer who won numerous prizes in classical, orchestral and opera categories. He won his last award in 2005 — Best Small Ensemble Performance (“Boulez: Le Marteau Sans Maître, Dérive 1 & 2”) — and he died in 2016 at age 90.
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John Williams (26 wins)
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety Composer John Williams is best known for his work in film, but he’s been better appreciated by the recording academy than by the motion picture academy. His five Oscars are dwarfed by his Grammys, including wins for “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Schindler’s List” and many more.
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Chick Corea (27 wins)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Chick Corea was a legend in jazz music. His victories spanned a remarkable six decades, starting with Best Jazz Group Performance in 1975 for “No Mystery” and ending with his most recent victories: Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Latin Jazz Album in 2022, more than a year after he died at age 79.
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Alison Krauss (27 wins)
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Alison Krauss is the second most awarded female artist in Grammy history. Most of her awards have come in country and bluegrass categories, but she also won Album of the Year twice: as a performer on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack (2001) and for her colaboration with Robert Plant, “Raising Sand” (2008).
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Quincy Jones (28 wins)
Image Credit: Tyler Boye/WWD Arguably the most eclectic musician on this list, Quincy Jones has accumulated awards as a performer, producer and arranger across a wide range of genres including jazz, spoken word, rap, pop and R&B.
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Georg Solti (31 wins)
Image Credit: Bruce Paulson/WWD Formerly the most awarded musician of all time was classical conductor Georg Solti, whose 31 Grammy victories span opera, choral and classical categories from 1962 all the way to 1997, the year of his death at age 84.
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Beyonce (32 wins)
Image Credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA Beyonce keeps setting Grammy records. She has more nominations than any other artist in Grammy history (tied with her husband Jay-Z). She also holds the record for the most victories by a woman in a single year (six, tied with Adele). Now she’s the biggest winner of all time. But despite her abundant popularity and acclaim she has only won once in the general field: Song of the Year for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” in 2010.
