| Record of the Year | “Graceland,” Paul Simon |
| Album of the Year | Joshua Tree, U2 (Island) |
| Song of the Year | “Somewhere Out There,” James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, songwriters |
| Best New Artist | Jody Watley |
 Sting Archive Photos |
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | Bring on the Night, Sting |
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” Whitney Houston |
| Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal | “(I've Had) The Time of My Life,” Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes |
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) | “Minute by Minute,” Larry Carlton |
| Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo | Tunnel of Love, Bruce Springsteen |
| Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal | The Joshua Tree, U2 |
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) | Jazz From Hell, Frank Zappa |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Song | “Lean on Me,” Bill Withers, songwriter |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male | “Just to See Her,” Smokey Robinson |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female | Aretha, Aretha Franklin |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal | “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” Aretha Franklin and George Michael |
| Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) | “Chicago Song,” David Sanborn |
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male | “What Is This Thing Called Love,” Bobby McFerrin |
| Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female | Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra, Diane Schuur |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist | The Other Side of Round Midnight, Dexter Gordon |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group | Marsalis Standard Time, Volume 1, Wynton Marsalis |
| Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band | Digital Duke, Duke Ellington Orchestra conducted by Mercer Ellington |
| Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental | Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group |
| Best Country Song | “Forever and Ever, Amen,” Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz, songwriters |
| Best Country Vocal Performance, Male | Always and Forever, Randy Travis |
| Best Country Vocal Performance, Female | “'80's Ladies,” K.T. Oslin |
| Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal | Trio, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris |
| Best Country Vocal Performance, Duet | “Make No Mistake, She's Mine,” Ronnie Milsap and Kenny Rogers |
| Best Country Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) | “String of Pars,” Asleep at the Wheel |
| Best Gospel Performance, Male | The Father Hath Provided, Larnelle Harris |
| Best Gospel Performance, Female | “I Believe in You,” Deniece Williams |
| Best Gospel Performance By a Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus | Crack the Sky, Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male | “Everything's Gonna Be Alright,” Al Green |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female | “For Always,” CeCe Winans |
| Best Soul Gospel Performance By a Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus | “Ain't No Need to Worry,” Winans and Anita Baker |
| Best Latin Pop Performance | Un Hombre Solo, Julio Iglesias |
| Best Tropical Latin Performance | La Verdad—The Truth, Eddie Palmieri |
| Best Mexican/American Performance | Gracias! America sin Fronteras, Los Tigres Del Norte |
| Best Traditional Blues Recording | Houseparty New Orleans Style, Professor Longhair (Rounder) |
| Best Contemporary Blues Recording | Strong Persuader, Robert Cray Band (Mercury/Hightone) |
| Best Traditional Folk Recording | Shaka Zulu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Warner Bros.) |
| Best Contemporary Folk Recording | Unfinished Business, Steve Goodman (Red Pajamas) |
| Best Reggae Recording | No Nuclear War, Peter Tosh (EMI-America) |
| Best New Age Performance | Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony, Yusef Lateef |
| Best Polka Recording | A Polka Just for Me, Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra (Starr) |
| Best Arrangement on an Instrumental | “Take the ”A“ Train,” Bill Holman, arranger |
| Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) | “Deedle's Blues,” Frank Foster, arranger |
| Best Instrumental Composition | “Call Sheet Blues,” Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Higgins, composers |
| Best Musical Cast Show Album | Les Miserables (Geffen) |
| Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television | The Untouchables (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Ennio Morricone, composer (A&M) |
| Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television | “Somewhere Out There” (From the animated movie An American Tale), James Horner, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, songwriters |
| Best Contemporary Composition | Cello Concerto No. 2, Krzysztof Penderecki, composer |
| Best Classical Album | Horowitz in Moscow, Vladimir Horowitz (Deutsche Grammophon) |
| Best Orchestral Recording | Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (Choral), Sir Georg Solti conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra (London) |
| Best Chamber Music Performance, Instrumental or Vocal | Beethoven, The Complete Piano Trios, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Vladimir Ashkenazy |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With Orchestra) | Mozart, Violin Concertos nos. 2 and 4 in D, Itzhak Perlman; James Levine conducting Vienna Philarmonic |
| Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (Without Orchestra) | Horowitz in Moscow, Vladimir Horowitz, piano |
| Best Opera Recording | Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos, James Levine conducting Vienna Philharmonic; solos: Tomowa-Sintow, Battle, Baltsa, Lakes and Prey (Deutsche Grammophon) |
| Best Choral Performance (Othen Than Opera) | Hindemith, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (A Requiem for Those We Love); Robert Shaw conducting Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra |
| Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance | Kathleen Battle, Salzburg Recital, Kathleen Battle; James Levine, accompanist |
| Best Comedy Recording | A Night at The Met, Robin Williams (Columbia/CBS) |
| Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording | Lake Wobegon Days, Garrison Keillor (PHC) |
| Best Recording for Children | The Elephant's Child, Jack Nicholson, narrator; Bobby McFerrin, music (Windham Hill) |
| Best Album Package | King's Record Shop, Bill Johnson, art director (Columbia/CBS) |
| Best Album Notes | Thelonious Monk, the Complete Riverside Recordings, Orrin Keepnews, annotator (Riverside) |
| Best Historical Album | Thelonious Monk, the Complete Riverside Recordings, Thelonious Monk (Riverside) |
| Best Performance Music Video | The Prince's Trust All-Star Rock Concert, Elton John, Tina Turner, Sting and others |
| Best Concept Music Video | “Land of Confusion,” Genesis |
| Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) | Narada Michael Walden |
| Classical Producer of the Year | Robert Woods |
