2016 Grammys: Early Look at Album of the Year

This year's Grammy eligibility period ends on Wednesday, so it is time to start wading through the plethora of contenders this year. First, Album of the Year:

Ryan Adams "1989"
Alabama Shakes "Sound & Color"
Jason Aldean "Old Boots, New Dirt"
Azealia Banks "Broke With Expensive Taste"
B.O.B. "Psycadelik Thoughtz"
Big Sean "Dark Sky Paradise"
Bjork "Vulnicura"
Leon Bridges "Coming Home"
Garth Brooks "Man Against Machine"
Chris Brown & Tyga "Fan of a Fan: The Album"
Luke Bryan "Kill the Lights"
Luke Bryan "Spring Break...Checkin' Out"
Charli XCX "Sucker"
Ciara "Jackie"
Kelly Clarkson "Piece by Piece"
J. Cole "2014 Forest Hills Drive"
Keyshia Cole "Point of No Return"
Miley Cyrus "Miley Cyrus and the Dead Petz"
D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Black Messiah"
Dr. Dre "Compton"
Drake "If You're Reading This You're Too Late"
Hillary Duff "Breathe In. Breathe Out"
Bob Dylan "Shadows in the Night"
Estelle "True Romance"
Fall Out Boy "American Beauty/American Psycho"
Fetty Wap "Fetty Wap"
Lupe Fiasco "Tetsuo & Youth"
Florence and The Machine "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
Florida Georgia Line "Anything Goes"
Flying Lotus "You're Dead"
Foo Fighters "Sonic Highways"
Selena Gomez "For You"
Macy Gray "The Way"
Josh Groban "Stages"
Halestorm "Into the Wild Life"
Calvin Harris "Motion"
Hunter Hayes "21"
Hozier "Hozier"
Sam Hunt "Montevallo"
Imagine Dragons "Smoke + Mirrors"
Alan Jackson "Angels and Alcohol"
Jessie J "Sweet Talk"
Jewel "Picking Up the Pieces"
Nick Jonas "Nick Jonas"
K. Michelle "Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart"
Tori Kelly "Unbreakable Smile"
Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp a Butterfly"
Adam Lambert "The Original High"
Mary Lambert "Heart On My Sleeve"
Annie Lennox "Nostalgia"
Leona Lewis "I Am"
Little Big Town "Pain Killer"
Ludacris "Ludaversal"
Madonna "Rebel Heart"
Reba McEntire "Love Somebody"
Shawn Mendes "Handwritten"
Nicki Minaj "The Pinkprint"
Mumford & Sons "Wilder Mind"
Muse "Drones"
Kacey Musgraves "Pageant Material"
Ne-Yo "Non-fiction"
Of Monsters and Men "Beneath the Skin"
OK Go "Hungry Ghosts"
One Direction "Four"
Lana Del Rey "Honeymoon"
Keith Richard "Crosseyed Heart"
Mark Ronson "Uptown Special"
Rick Ross "Hood Billionaire"
Darius Rucker "Southern Style"
Nate Ruess "Grand Romantic"
Bob Seeger "Ride Out"
Snoop Dogg "BUSH"
Jordin Sparks "Right Here, Right Now"
Rae Sremmurd "SremmLife"
Ringo Starr "Postcards From Paradise"
Jazmine Sullivan "Reality Show"
Taylor Swift "1989"
T.I. "Paperwork"
James Taylor "Before This World"
Meghan Trainor "Title"
Weezer "Everything Will Be Alright in the End"
Wilco "Star Wars"
Brian Wilson "No Pier Pressure"
The Weeknd "Beauty Behind the Madness"
You + Me "Rose Ave."
Zac Brown Band "Jekyll & Hyde"

My First Predictions
D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Black Messiah"
Bob Dylan "Shadows in the Night"
Foo Fighters "Sonic Highways"
Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp a Butterfly"
Taylor Swift "1989"

Commentary - With no Kanye or Adele record released in time, it looks like we have our final list of major contenders. Swift and Lamar are set to rake in a ton of nominations, not only for their duo Bad Blood, but for both of their albums respectively which look to sweep the Pop and Rap categories. Bob Dylan is doing covers, so that may exclude him, but they love him so much, I don't think it matters. Sonic Highways is no where near the best album the Foo Fighters have put out. But once again, they are Grammy favorites, and ar definitely in the mix. Finally, while this will most likely be passed over for a more radio-friendly pop album, I hope that voters are paying attention to D'Angelo and his brilliant Black Messiah. So who else is out there? James Taylor had his first number 1 album of all time, Meghan Trainor and Hozier could build on last year's general nominations, The Weeknd is hotter than ever, and don't discount Alabama Shakes, Wilco, Mark Ronson, Lana Del Rey, Florence + The Machine, Kacey Musgraves, Mumford & Sons, Sam Hunt, Leon Bridges, Charli XCX, Kelly Clarkson, Dr. Dre, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Fall Out Boy, and Imagine Dragons.