Remembering Past Best Dance/Electronica Album Grammy Winners

Tonight's 55th Grammy ceremony will be a memorable event, primarily because the Best Dance/Electronica Album nominees for this year are actually promi

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Complex Original

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Tonight's 55th Grammy Awards ceremony will be a memorable event, primarily because the Best Dance/Electronica Album nominees for this year are actually prominent figures within the EDM scene. The category is only eight-years-old, and at times it feels like the committee had a hard time picking albums to nominate.

As you will see, the past winners, which have includes Madonna, Lady Gaga, and La Roux, while definitely utilizing dance music within their projects, aren't always identified as dance music artists. Take a look back at who has won over the last eight years, and rejoice in what seems like a turn for (at least) proper representation in the albums category by artists who deserve it.

Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash

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Year Grammy Won: 2005

This was the Basement Jaxx's first full length album since 2001's "Rooty," and during the 2005 Grammys, it beat out The Prodigy, The Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, and Paul Van Dyk. It made sense, as the lead single "Lucky Star" (which featured Dizzee Rascal) was a great reintroduction to their sound. The album also featured JC Chasez, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Siouxsie Sioux, for good or ill, and was probably their last great project, seeing as their subsequent albums failed to make a mark with critics or the Grammy board.

The Chemical Brothers - Push The Button

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Year Grammy Won: 2006

The Chemicals' fifth studio album beat out some stiff competition, including LCD Soundsystem, Fatboy Slim, Kraftwerk, and Daft Punk's Human After All. No diss to the acts in the running that year, but the pickings must have been slim in 2006. "Galvanize," the Q-Tip-featured lead single, was the biggest track on a remotely forgettable project.

Madonna - Confessions on a Dancefloor

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Year Grammy Won: 2007

Madonna's not an EDM artist, but she's definitely been about that club life, and this album showcased Madonna's honesty along with her love of the dancefloor. The album played like a DJ set, with tracks blending into each other, and the interesting thing was that it went from being lighthearted to a bit darker, mimicking a great night out that turns into a headache due to whatever drama/strife gets thrown at you. It did a great job of marrying a wide array of dance music styles, from disco right on up through current (at the time) styles, and was seen as a return to form by fans and critics alike, and ended up beating out Goldfrapp, Paul Oakenfold, the Pet Shop Boys, and Zero 7 (aka a group of dance music artists that had no chance).

The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night

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Year Grammy Won: 2008

The Chemical Brothers beating out Justice, Tiesto, LCD Soundsystem, and Shiny Toys made them the only artist to win in this category twice. The album continued to mix vocalists (including Fatlip and Klaxons) with their signature, rave-ready instrumentals. This isn't holding a candle to their older output, but it showed a glimmer of hope that they could still churn out a banger or three if they wanted.

Daft Punk - Alive 2007

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Year Grammy Won: 2009

Seriously? Putting Daft Punk's magnificent live album, where they stitched together their classic bits, creating creative mash-ups of their own back catalog, against albums from Brazilian Girls, Cyndi Lauper, Kylie Minogue, Moby, and Robyn? Was there any doubt?

Lady Gaga - The Fame

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Year Grammy Won: 2010

Gaga's solo album was bound to destroy any competition thrown her way. She's always openly embraced dance music, and The Fame sat for 100 weeks (non-consecutively) on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, letting you know that both sides loved each other equally. It spawned five singles, all of them becoming staples of pop radio. It just made sense for her to win, even if she was up against David Guetta.

La Roux - La Roux

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Year Grammy Won: 2011

Many remember this album for the huge single "In for the Kill," either because of its use in video game commercials, or remixed versions from Skream and Skrillex. Is that really enough to be full length projects from the Chemical Brothers, BT, Groove Armada, and Goldfrapp?

Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

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Year Grammy Won: 2012

You might call this the year where everything changed; current EDM stars like Skrillex, Deadmau5, and David Guetta were nominated, and while Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites was only an EP, Skrillex's win (one of three Grammys won that night) was obvious. 2012 might've been his year, and this helped signify it.

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