Charli XCX's Brat, arguably the most impactful album artwork in recent memory, took home the Grammy earlier this year for Best Recording Package. That category recognizes the album cover design, and the "overall visual presentation" of the album, but it excludes boxed sets and limited editions, which got a category of their own in 1995. Now, the Grammys have added a new category for their 68th awards show, set to take place on Feb. 1, 2026: Best Album Cover.
The Best Recording Package category was actually called Best Album Cover when the first Grammys took place in 1959 (the winner was Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely). But the music industry changes, and so the category was named Best Album Package in 1974 -- and then Best Recording Package in 1994 -- to account for how artists were really leveling up their albums' visual presentation.
In 2025, however, we've got vinyl variants out the wazoo, and an album's visual presentation encapsulates way more than just its cover art. So for now, in order to "be more representative of today’s marketplace," the Best Recording Package and Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package categories will be combined into the Best Recording Package category, with Best Album Cover on its own. The eligibility period goes from Aug. 31, 2024 to Aug. 30, 2025, just in time for Sabrina Carpenter's discourse-starting Man's Best Friend to be up for consideration.
More Grammy updates for 2026 include a Best Traditional Country Album category, while the existing Best Country Album category has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album. The Best New Artist category has also been expanded to include artists who had credited features on albums previously nominated for Album Of The Year, so long as they fall below the 20% playing time threshold. I'm not exactly sure who that'll benefit, but good for them! Nominees will be announced on Nov. 7.
