The 25 Greatest Grammy Performances of All Time

From Beyonce to Radiohead to Aretha–here are the classic moments that have defined the show’s history

Rob Sheffield

Contributing Editor

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One thing about the Grammys never changes: nobody cares about the awards. We watch for the music. Those live moments where the Grammy spotlight hits a brilliant performer who’s ready to shine. Those are the Grammy thrills we wait for. And this is our celebration of the show’s all-time best classic performances.

The only rule we used is no doubling up on artists—otherwise Beyonce, Prince and Taylor would own most of the list. And we want to make room for some of the freaky cult-fave moments.

If this list is tilted to recent years, that’s because the Grammys were consistently feeble in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. So the recent ones are just better. The past decade is easily the show’s most fun era ever. So there’s never been a more exciting moment for the Grammys than right now. Here’s to the next wave of stars to rock our world.