Final 2014 Grammy Nominations Predictions

Here are my final predictions in a select group of categories.

Personally, 2013 was one of the worst years in music in recent years. So many songs received notoriety for their scandalous videos ("Blurred Lines" and "Wrecking Ball") or just because another pop princess was back (Gaga's "Applause" and Katy Perry's "Roar'). Through all of the crap there will still be five nominees each in the Grammy's top four categories, but who?

Official nominees will be announced on December 6.

Album of the Year
The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
The Heist, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk
Red, Taylor Swift
Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars

Alternates:
Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys
Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, Kendrick Lamar


Record of the Year
"Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke f/ Pharrell Williams and T.I.
"Get Lucky," Daft Punk f/ Pharrell Williams
"Locked Out of Heaven," Bruno Mars
"Mirrors,"Justin Timberlake
"Thrift Shop," Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Alternates:
"Thrift Shop," Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
"Skyfall," Adele
"Royals," Lorde

Song of the Year
"I Knew You Were Trouble," Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
"Locked out of Heaven," Songwriters: Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine
"Mirrors," Songwriters: Justin Timberlake, Timothy Mosley, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, James Fauntleroy
"Same Love," Songwriters: Ben Haggerty, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert

Best New Artist
Florida Georgia Line
Imagine Dragons
Kacey Musgraves
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Best Pop Solo Performance
"Mirrors," Justin Timberlake
"Roar," Katy Perry
"Skyfall," Adele
"Try," Pink
"When I Was Your Man," Bruno Mars

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke f/ Pharrell Williams and T.I.
"Get Lucky," Daft Punk f/ Pharrell Williams
"Give Me A Reason," Pink f/ Nate Reuss
"Love Somebody," Maroon 5
"Stay," Rihanna f/ Mikky Ekko

Best Pop Album
The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke
Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars
The World from the Side of the Moon, Phillip Phillips

Best Country Album
Golden, Lady Antebellum
Here's to the Good Times, Florida Georgia Line
Pioneer, The Band Perry
Red, Taylor Swift
Same Trailer, Different Park, Kacey Musgraves

Best Dance/Electronica Album
18 Months, Calvin Harris
Clarity, Zedd
Electric, Pet Shop Boys
Overgrown, James Blake
Random Access Memories, Daft Punk

Best Dance Recording
"Animals," Martin Garrix
"Clarity," Zedd f/ Foxes
"Right Now," Rihanna f/ David Guetta
"Sweet Nothing," Calvin Harris f/ Florence Welch.
"Wake Me Up!," Avicii

Best Rap Album
The Gifted, Wale
Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, Kendrick Lamar
The Heist, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Magna Carta... Holy Grail, Jay Z
Yeezus, Kanye West

Best R&B Album
Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys
Love, Charlie, Charlie Wilson
Love in the Future, John Legend
Songversation, India.Arie
Three Kings, TGT

Best Urban Contemporary Album
Kiss Land, The Weeknd
R.E.D. Ne-yo
Side Effects of Me, Fantasia

Best Alternative Album
Amok, Atoms For Peace
Bankrupt!, Phoenix
Delta Machine, Depeche Mode
Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend
Trouble Will Find Me, The Nationals

Best Rock Album
Hail to the King, Avenge Sevenfold
Hesitation Marks, Nine Inch Nails
... Like Clockwork, Queens of the Stone Age
The Next Day, David Bowie
Save Rock and Roll, Fall Out Boy

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Visual Media
Django Unchained Soundtrack
The Great Gatsby (Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film)
Les Misérables: Highlights from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Nashville: The Music of Nashville: Season 1: Volume 1

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Downton Abbey, John Lunn
Life of Pi, Mychal Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Rush, Hans Zimmer

Best Song Written For Visual Media
"Pi's Lullaby," from Life of Pi
"Skyfall," from Skyfall
"Suddenly," from Les Miserables
"Young and Beautiful," from The Great Gatsby