Rapper Kayne West collected a leading 'perfect score' of 10 Grammy nominations for his debut album, The College Dropout.
The disc has received rave reviews from critics because it's stayed away from what have become rap's standard themes: the album isn't about sex, money, or violence, but touches instead upon everything from religion to his own insecurities.
Billboard sensations Usher and Alicia Keys, collaborating for the hit My boo, are close behing with eight nods each, both artists also vying for album of the year with Keys' The Diary Of Alicia Keys and Usher's Confessions.
After enjoying renewed success with the biopic, Ray, boosting sales of his posthumous duets album, Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles received seven nominations.
The other major nominations are:
Album of the year: Genius Loves Company - Ray Charles and Various Artists; American Idiot - Green Day; The Diary of Alicia Keys - Alicia Keys; Confessions - Usher; The College Dropout - Kanye West.
Song of the year: Daughters - John Mayer; If I ain't got you - Alicia Keys (Alicia Keys); Jesus walks - C Smith and Kanye West; Live like you were dying - Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman; The reason - Daniel Estrin and Douglas Robb (Hoobastank).
New artist: Los Lonely Boys; Maroon 5; Joss Stone; Kanye West; Gretchen Wilson.
Female pop vocal performance: Oceania - Bjork; The first cut is the deepest - Sheryl Crow; Sunrise - Norah Jones; What you waiting for? - Gwen Stefani; You had me - Joss Stone.
Male pop vocal performance: Let's misbehave - Elvis Costello; You raise me up - Josh Groban; Daughters - John Mayer; Cinnamon girl - Prince; Love's divine - Seal.
Pop performance by a duo or group with vocal: My immortal - Evanescence; The reason - Hoobastank; Heaven - Los Lonely Boys; She will be loved - Maroon 5; It's my life - No Doubt.
Solo rock vocal performance: Wonderwall - Ryan Adams; The revolution starts now - Steve Earle; Breathe - Melissa Etheridge; Code of silence - Bruce Springsteen; Metropolitan glide - Tom Waits
Hard rock performance: Megalomaniac - Incubus; Some kind of monster - Metallica; Feelin' way too damn good - Nickelback; Duality - Slipknot; Slither - Velvet Revolver.
Pop vocal album: Genius Loves Company - Ray Charles and Various Artists; Feels Like Home - Norah Jones; Afterglow - Sarah McLachlan; Mind, Body and Soul - Joss Stone; Brian Wilson Presents Smile - Brian Wilson.
Rock album: The Delivery Man - Elvis Costello and the Imposters; American Idiot - Green Day; The Reason - Hoobastank; Hot Fuss - the Killers; Contraband - Velvet Revolver.
The 47th annual Grammy Awards will be announced February 13.
