With the Grammy’s coming up this Sunday, I figure it’s time I make my picks…so here it goes. (I’ll limit it to the major categories and winners will be in bold. Strikethrough will indicate an artist with a fighting choice.)

1. Record of the Year

• “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
• “Holocene” by Bon Iver
• “Grenade” by Bruno Mars
• “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons
• “Firework” by Katy Perry

Adele had a prodigious year, and in doing so, don’t be surprised if she dominates the Grammy’s. Bon Iver deserves it as much, and while only two albums into his career, it’s his best to date.

2. Album of the Year

• 21 by Adele
• Wasting Light by The Foo Fighters
• Born This Way by Lady Gaga
• Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars
• Loud by Rihanna

Again Adele will be strong in this category, but Lady Gaga has a fighting chance. She also had a hell of a 2011 with multiple chart topping singles, in fact “Born this Way” became the fastest selling single in iTunes history! In fact Born This Way sold the most amount of albums than any other in the last five years (over a million!).

3. Song of the Year

• “All of the Lights” by Kanye West
• “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons
• “Grenade” by Bruno Mars
• “Holocene” by Bon Iver
• “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele

The biggest difference between “Record of the Year” and “Song of the Year” is that with the “Record” award it’s given to everyone who worked on the song while “Song” is for the performer only. With Kanye having a big year with two monster releases (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy & Watch the Throne with Jay-Z), this song seems a likely choice, though Adele still has a really big chance at winning this award as well.

4. Best New Artist

• The Band Perry
• Bon Iver
• J. Cole
• Nicki Minaj
• Skrillex

Nicki Minaj came out of nowhere in 2010 with Pink Friday, and since that has been big in 2011, appearing on countless tracks with the likes of Drake, Kanye West, The Lonely Island, and many other artists. The Band Perry has been a cross-over success, making their chances of winning this award better than most.

5. Best Post Solo Performance

• “Someone Like You” by Adele
• “You & I” by Lady Gaga
• “Grenade” by Bruno Mars
• “Firework” by Katy Perry
• “F***in’ Perfect” by P!nk

Lady Gaga has a really great chance of winning this award, mainly because Adele’s strongest single (“Rolling in the Deep”) wasn’t nominated, but don’t count her out either, “Someone Like You” was still a huge success.

6. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

• “Body & Soul” by Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
• “Dearest” by The Black Keys
• “Paradise” by Coldplay
• “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People
• “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5

Foster the People’s huge smash “Pumped Up Kicks” was a huge hit in 2011 and has the greatest chance to win, but at the same token, one can expect a lot of sympathy from the voters for “Body & Soul.”

12 Best Rock Performance

• “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” by Coldplay
• “Down by the Water” by The Decemberists
• “Walk” by The Foo Fighters
• “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons
• “Lotus Flower” by Radiohead

Coldplay and the Foo’s have equal chance in my opinion, but I give the edge to Coldplay, but only slightly. Coldplay always seems to top themselves when it comes to album releases.

13. Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance

• “On the Backs of Angels” by Dream Theater
• “White Limo” by The Foo Fighters
• “Curl of the Burl” by Mastodon
• “Public Enemy No. 1” by Megadeath
• “Blood in My Eyes” by Sum 41

With one of the strongest releases of their career, if Mastodon doesn’t win, I will probably riot! Of course, the Foo Fighters will be close in their, and most likely the probable winner, but I hope I prove them wrong.

14. Best Rock Song

• “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons
• “Down by the Water” by The Decemberists
• “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” by Coldplay
• “Lotus Flower” by Radiohead
• “Walk” by The Foo Fighters

Walk has a really great chance of winning for this category, the song content lends itself to a great Grammy win, but don’t be surprised if Coldplay comes away with the win either, though they have a better chance in an alternative category.

Best Rock Album

• Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul by Jeff Beck
• Wasting Light by The Foo Fighters
• Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon
• I’m With You by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Whole Love by Wilco

The Foo’s are a no brainer in this category; if Wasting Light is good enough to be nominated for Album of the Year, then it’s a shoe in for Best Rock Album. The Peppers are an obvious choice for second.

Best Alternative Music Album

• Bon Iver by Bon Iver
• Codes and Keys by Death Cab for Cutie
• Torches by Foster the People
• Circuital by My Morning Jacket
• King of Limbs by Radiohead

I’m going to give the nod to Bon Iver here. Considering it’s been nominated for Album of the Year, if it doesn’t win here, I’ll punch someone in the face! The only other choice that has the best chance is Foster the People; Radiohead kind of stumbled a little with King of Limbs, and doubt it will get any awards.

20. Best R&B Album

• F.A.M.E. by Chris Brown
• Second Chance by El DeBarge
• Love Letter by R. Kelly
• Pieces of Me by Ledisi
• Kelly by Kelly Price

R&B is the one category that I’m least familiar with, but I’ll take a stab at it anyway. Chris Brown has had a stellar year and a really strong chance at winning in this category.

21. Best Rap Performance

• “Look At Me Now” by Chris Brown
• “Otis” by Kanye West & Jay-Z
• “The Show Must Go On” by Lupe Fiasco
• “Moments 4 Life” by Nicki Minaj & Drake
• “Black and Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa

You will never see me cast a win for “Otis,” the song that should be wiped off the planet. But “Black and Yellow” was everywhere this past year, making Wiz Khalifa a star. I’ve got to give props to Lupe Fiasco, Lasers was phenomenal, and he deserves to win some awards.

23. Best Rap Song

• “All of the Lights” by Kanye West
• “Black and Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa
• “I Need a Doctor” by Dr. Dre
• “Look at Me Now” by Chris Brown
• “Otis” by Kanye West & Jay-Z
• “The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco

Kanye West’s music is the strongest in this category, proving that having an album with Jay-Z doesn’t give you license to make crap. Again, Khalifa’s good year will make this one a contender.

24. Best Rap Album

• Watch the Throne by Kanye West & Jay-Z
• Tha Carter IV by Lil Wayne
• Lasers by Lupe Fiasco
• Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West

Considering that Kanye is nominated twice, he has the best chance of winning and his solo album is the strongest in this category. Nicki Minaj deserves to win as well, Pink Friday‘s impact is absolute.

25. Best Country Solo Performance

• “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean
• “I’m Going to Love You Through It” by Martina McBride
• “Honey Bee” by Blake Shelton
• “Mean” by Taylor Swift
• “Mama’s Song” by Carrie Underwood

Blake had a kind of cross-over year with The Voice, but also released a stellar album, making him a great contender in the category. “Dirt Road Anthem” is one of those strange, compelling songs. It’s a bit country, has elements of rap, but’s good through and through.

26. Best Country Duo/Group Performance

• “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson
• “You and Tequila” by Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter
• “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars
• “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” by Thompson Square

This is a category that doesn’t have a weak nomination and will be tough to call. I’m giving it to Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter because it was a phenomenal song to say the least. And with country fans, who wasn’t singing Thompson Square last year, another beautiful song.

27. Best Country Song

• “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” by Thompson Square
• “God Gave Me You” by Blake Shelton
• “Just Fishin'” by Trace Adkins
• “Mean” by Taylor Swift
• “Threaten Me with Heaven” by Vince Gill
• “You and Tequila” by Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter

I know I’m going to be wrong here, but Vince Gill released the best album in the last 15 years, and this song rightly deserves to win.

28. Best Country Album

• My Kinda Party by Jason Aldean
• Chief by Eric Church
• Own the Night by Lady Antebellum
• Red River Blue by Blake Shelton
• Here for a Good Time by George Strait
• Speak Now by Taylor Swift

Eric Church sold more albums than any country artist on this list this year, but that’s why he doesn’t deserve to win. Here, he delivers the best album of his career, garnering a lot of attention from many critics. Taylor Swift will also be strong here, but I feel she will fall a bit short in the category.

Please leave a comment below…tell us who you think are going to win!