The Grammy Awards have been given annually since 1958. Two of the most prestigious awards are Record of the Year (given to the performers) and Song of the Year (given to the songwriters). Below is a listing of all songs to receive either award. Following that is a ranking by the DMDB of all those songs.
Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.
Spotify Podcast:
Check out the two-part Dave’s Music Database podcast celebrating the Grammy Winners for Record and Song of the Year 1959-1992 (debut: April 5, 2022 at 7pm CST) and 1993-2022 (debut: April 12, 2022 at 7pm CST). which references songs on this list. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.
SONG/RECORD WINNERS BY YEAR:
SONG/RECORD WINNERS RANKED:
This is the DMDB’s ranking of all songs which have won Grammys for Song or Record of the Year.
DMDB Top 1%:
1. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
2. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
3. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
4. Eagles “Hotel California” (1977)
5. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
6. Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014)
7. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997)
8. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
9. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
10. Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
11. Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1983)
12. USA for Africa “We Are the World” (1985)
13. Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
14. Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” (1999)
15. Adele “Hello” (2015)
16. Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” (2014)
17. Roberta Flack “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973)
18. Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981)
19. Lorde “Royals” (2013)
20. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
21. Tina Turner “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” (1984)
22. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
23. Simon & Garfunkel “Mrs. Robinson” (1968)
24. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1969)
25. Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams “Get Lucky” (2013)
26. U2 “Beautiful Day” (2000)
27. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
28. Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004)
29. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
30. Johnny Horton “The Battle of New Orleans” (1959)
31. Alicia Keys “Fallin’” (2001)
32. Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” (1992)
33. Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” (1961)
34. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
35. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
36. Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971)
37. Fun with Janelle Monáe “We Are Young” (2012)
38. Seal “Kiss from a Rose” (1994)
39. Billie Eilish “Bad Guy” (2019)
40. Phil Collins “Another Day in Paradise” (1989)
41. Captain & Tennille “Love Will Keep Us Together” (1975)
42. Dionne & Friends “That's What Friends Are For” (1985)
43. Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (1974)
44. Domenico Modugno “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blue)” (1958)
45. Coldplay “Clocks” (2002)
46. Sam Smith “Stay with Me” (2014)
47. Percy Faith “A Theme from A Summer Place” (1960)
48. Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (1977)
49. Sheryl Crow “All I Wanna Do” (1994)
50. Natalie Cole with Nat “King” Cole “Unforgettable” (1991)
51. Tony Bennett “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (1962)
52. Frank Sinatra “Strangers in the Night” (1966)
53. Louis Armstrong “Hello, Dolly!” (1964)
54. Kings of Leon “Use Somebody” (2008)
55. Bruce Springsteen “Streets of Philadelphia” (1994)
56. Stan Getz with Joao Gilberto “The Girl from Ipanema” (1964)
57. Miley Cyrus “Flowers”
58. The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes” (1978)
59. Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like” (2016)
60. Bette Midler “Wind Beneath My Wings” (1988)
61. Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak as Silk Sonic “Leave the Door Open” (2021)
62. Peabo Bryson with Regina Belle “A Whole New World” (1992)
63. Bobby McFerrin “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (1988)
64. James Taylor “You’ve Got a Friend” (1971)
DMDB Top 2%:
65. Christopher Cross “Sailing” (1980)
66. Toto “Rosanna” (1982)
67. Lizzo “About Damn Time” (2022)
68. The Beatles “Michelle” (1965)
69. Steve Winwood “Higher Love” (1986)
70. Childish Gambino “This Is America” (2018)
71. Eric Clapton “Change the World” (1996)
72. Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why” (2002)
73. Barbra Streisand “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)” (1976)
74. Shawn Colvin “Sunny Came Home” (1997)
75. Barry Manilow “I Write the Songs” (1975)
76. Bruno Mars “24K Magic” (2016)
DMDB Top 5%:
77. The Fifth Dimension “Up, Up and Away” (1967)
78. Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice” (2006)
79. Billie Eilish “What Was I Made For?” (2023)
80. Judy Collins “Send in the Clowns” (1975)
81. Billie Eilish “Everything I Wanted” (2020)
82. Paul Simon “Graceland” (1986)
83. U2 “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” (2005)
84. Henry Mancini “The Days of Wine and Roses” (1963)
85. U2 “Walk On” (2001)
86. Bette Midler “From a Distance” (1990)
87. George Benson “This Masquerade” (1976)
88. Sammy Davis, Jr. “What Kind of Fool am I?” (1962)
89. Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” (2024)
DMDB Top 10%:
90. Linda Ronstadt with James Ingram “Somewhere Out There” (1986)
91. Tony Bennett “The Shadow of Your Smile (Love Theme from The Sandpiper)” (1965)
92. Robert Plant with Alison Krauss “Please Read the Letter” (2007)
93. Ferrante & Teicher “Theme from Exodus” (1960)
94. John Mayer “Daughters” (2004)
95. Carole King “You’ve Got a Friend” (1971)
96. Roger Miller “Little Green Apples” (1968)
97. Joe South “Games People Play” (1968)
98. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass “A Taste of Honey” (1965)
99. Luther Vandross “Dance with My Father” (2003)
DMDB Top 20%:
100. Bonnie Raitt “Just Like That” (2022)
Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:
101. H.E.R. “I Can’t Breathe” (2020)
102. Ray Charles with Norah Jones “Here We Go Again” (2004)
Resources/Related Links:
First posted 1/19/2012; last updated 2/3/2025. | 
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