*** For a list of the 2008 winners & nominees in the top categories, just click here. *** For a list of the last year's (2007) winners & nominees in the top categories, just click here.

The best nominated songs from the 2008 Grammys on one CD. Click here to buy it!

The 50th annual Grammy Awards were held on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008 at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

The big winners included Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys.

Performers at the show included Tina Turner, Kid Rock, the Foo Fighters, Josh Groban, Feist, John Fogerty with Jerry lee Lewis and Little Richard, Alicia Keyes, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Aretha Franklin, and many others.

Presenters included Tom Hanks, Prince, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Jason Bateman, Tony Bennett, Cher, Nelly Furtado, Quincy Jones, Dave Stewart and Taylor Swift.

The Grammy Award is the granddaddy of all music awards, dating back over four decades; it is to music what the Oscars are to the movies. (The name "Grammy" is short for "gramophone," since the awards are shaped like those old-fashioned phonographs).

Over the years L.A. and New York have played tug-of-war with the Grammy Awards show. The result? Two thirds of the Grammy ceremonies have been held in Los Angeles, a third in New York City, and once in Nashville.

In 1999, the show returned to L.A. (at the Shrine, with host Kelsey Grammer) thanks in large part to a much publicized feud between the show's organizers and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. And the Grammys didn't return to the Big Apple while Giuliani was still in office, eventually moving to L.A.'s Staples Center.

But with Giuliani finally gone from City Hall, the Grammys returned to New York in 2003, at Madison Square Garden.

For 2004, the award show moved back to L.A., and has remained here.

Last year (2007), the show was also held at the Staples Center. The big winners were the Dixie Chicks and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris and Carrie Underwood.

Performers on stage at Staples in 2007 included both the Chili Peppers and the Dixie Chicks, Beyoncé, John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Lionel Richie, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, Shakira, John Legend, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

In 2007, the show was held on Wednesday, Feb. 8 (due to coverage of the Winter Olympics), and was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

Performers for the 2006 show included Paul McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, U2 with Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill with Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera with Herbie Hancock, Jamie Foxx with Kanye West and Madonna (with the animated group 'Gorillaz').

2006 presenters included Jennifer Love Hewitt, Teri Hatcher and Jenna Elfman, Destiny's Child, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Brown and Lance Armstrong.

The big winners for 2006 included U2, Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Kanye West, Green Day, Stevie Wonder, The Black Eyed Peas, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Union Station, Rascal Flats and Keith Urban.

In 2005, the big winners were the late Ray Charles, U2, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Los Lonely Boys, Kanye West, Usher, John Mayer, Tim McGraw and Maroon 5.

Among the presenters in 2005 were John Travolta, Ellen DeGeneres, Gary Sinise, Norah Jones, Ludacris, Mark McGrath, Christina Milian, Hoobastank, Alison Krauss, Tyra Banks and Steven Tyler.

Artists performing on stage at the 2005 show, included U2, Green Day, Kanye West, Steven Tyler, Alicia Keys, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Joss Stone, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, Franz Ferdinand, Velvet Revolver, Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson and Keith Urban.

Big winners at the 2004 awards included Beyonce (who tied a record for the most awards), Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Outkast, and Evanescence.

Top winners for 2003 included Norah Jones, Bruce Springsteen, No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, Coldplay, Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Carlton, Nelly, Usher, India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Missy Elliott, Outkast, Eminem, Johnny Cash Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder and Ludacris.

Performers at the 2002 show included U2, Bob Dylan, Train, Alicia Keys, OutKast, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Alan Jackson, the Soggy Bottom Boys and the "Lady Marmalade" girls (Patti LaBelle, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott and Mya.)

2001's winners included U2, Eminem, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Beck, Faith Hill, Steely Dan, D'Angelo, the Foo Fighters, B.B. King, Radiohead, Dolly Parton, Destiny's Child and many more.

Performers at the 2001 show included Madonna (opening the show) 'N Sync, Destiny's Child, Paul Simon, Faith Hill, U2, Blue Man Group, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Sheryl Crow, and Eminem & Elton John in duet on "Stan."

Performers at the 2000 show included the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Carlos Santana with Rob Thomas, and Ricky Martin, among others. Winners included Christina Aguilera, Sarah McLachlan, Sting, Cher, Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, Beck, Whitney Houston, TLC, Eminem, Shania Twain, George Jones, the Dixie Chicks and many more.

1999's show at the Shrine featured Madonna performing as the opening act.Other performers included Lauryn Hill, Celine Dion, Seal, Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, Alanis Morissette, B.B. King, Vince Gill, Shania Twain & Luciano Pavarotti.

Alas, tickets to the annual Grammy Awards show are not available to the general public; it's "by invitation only" to nominees, recording artists, & record company execs. And due to the 9/11 scare, there were no bleachers or other areas for fans outside the Staples Center.

(But if you want a more certain way to see many of the same music superstars in person, you'll be happy to learn that tickets are available to the public for the American Music Awards.)