The 32nd Grammy Awards were held in 1990. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.

Award winners:

• Record of the Year
  • Arif Mardin (producer) & Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My Wings"

• Album of the Year
  • Don Was (producer) & Bonnie Raitt for Nick of Time

• Song of the Year
  • Jeff Silbar & Larry Henley (songwriters) for "Wind Beneath My Wings" performed by Bette Midler

• Best New Artist
  • Milli Vanilli (revoked)

Blues

• Best Traditional Blues Recording
  • Bonnie Raitt & John Lee Hooker for "I'm in the Mood"
• Best Contemporary Blues Recording
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble In Step

Children's

• Best Recording for Children
  • J. Aaron Brown , David R. Lehman (producers) & Tanya Goodman for The Rock-A-Bye Collection, Vol. 1

Classical

• Best Orchestral Performance
  • Leonard Bernstein (conductor) & the New York Philharmonic for Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
• Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance
  • David Zinman (conductor), Dawn Upshaw & the Orchestra of St. Luke's for Knoxville - Summer of 1915 (Music of Barber, Menotti, Harbison, Stravinsky)
• Best Opera Recording
  • Cord Garben (producer), James Levine (conductor), Hildegard Behrens , Gary Lakes , Christa Ludwig, Kurt Moll, James Morris, Jessye Norman & the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for Wagner: Die Walkuere
• Best Choral Performance (other than opera)
  • Robert Shaw (conductor) & the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus for Britten: War Requiem
• Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist (with orchestra)
  • David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68
• Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist (without orchestra)
  • Andras Schiff for Bach: English Suites
• Best Chamber Music Performance
  • The Emerson String Quartet for Bartók: 6 String Quartets
• Best Contemporary Composition
  • Steve Reich (composer) & the Kronos Quartet for Reich: Different Trains
• Best Classical Album
  • Wolf Erichson (producer) & the Emerson String Quartet for Bartók: 6 String Quartets

Comedy

• Best Comedy Recording
  • Peter Schickele for P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults

Composing and arranging

• Best Instrumental Composition
  • Danny Elfman (composer) for "The Batman Theme" performed by the Sinfonia of London Orchestra
• Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
  • Carly Simon (songwriter) for "Let the River Run"
• Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television
  • Dave Grusin (composer) for The Fabulous Baker Boys
• Best Arrangement on an Instrumental
  • Dave Grusin (arranger) for "Suite From The Milagro Beanfield War"
• Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals
  • Dave Grusin (arranger) for "My Funny Valentine" performed by Michelle Pfeiffer

Country

• Best Country Vocal Performance, Female
  • k.d. lang for Absolute Torch and Twang
• Best Country Vocal Performance, Male
  • Lyle Lovett for Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
• Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for Will the Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two
• Best Country Vocal Collaboration
  • Hank Williams Jr. & Hank Williams Sr. for "There's a Tear in My Beer"
• Best Country Instrumental Performance
  • Randy Scruggs for "Amazing Grace"
• Best Country Song
  • Rodney Crowell (songwriter) for "After All This Time"
• Best Bluegrass Recording
  • Bruce Hornsby & Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for "The Valley Road"

Folk

• Best Traditional Folk Recording
  • Marcel Cellier (producer) for Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares, Vol. II performed by the Bulgarian State Female Vocal Choir
• Best Contemporary Folk Recording
  • Indigo Girls for Indigo Girls

Gospel

• Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female
  • CeCe Winans for "Don't Cry"
• Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male
  • BeBe Winans for "Meantime"
• Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus
  • Take 6 for "The Savior Is Waiting"
• Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male or Female
  • Al Green for "As Long as We're Together"
• Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus
  • Daniel Winans for "Let Brotherly Love Continue"

Historical

• Best Historical Album
  • Andy McKaie (producer) for Chuck Berry - The Chess Box

Jazz

• Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
  • Ruth Brown for Blues on Broadway
• Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male
  • Harry Connick Jr. for When Harry Met Sally
• Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group
  • Dr. John & Rickie Lee Jones for "Makin' Whoopee"
• Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist (On a Jazz Recording)
  • Miles Davis for Aura
• Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group
  • Chick Corea Akoustic Band for Chick Corea Akoustic Band
• Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
  • Miles Davis for Aura
• Best Jazz Fusion Performance
  • Pat Metheny Group for Letter From Home

Latin

• Best Latin Pop Performance
  • Jose Feliciano for "Cielito Lindo"
• Best Tropical Latin Performance
  • Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz for Ritmo en el Corazon
• Best Mexican-American Performance
  • Los Lobos for La Pistola y el Corazon

Musical Show

• Best Musical Cast Show Album
  • Jay David Saks (producer) & the original cast with Jason Alexander & Debbie Shapiro & Robert La Fasse for Jerome Robbins' Broadway

Music Video

• Best Music Video, Short Form
  • Jim Blashfield , Paul Diener , Frank DiLeo , Jerry Kramer, (video producers), Jim Blashfield (video director) & Michael Jackson for "Leave Me Alone"
• Best Music Video, Long Form
  • Aris McGarry (video producer), Jonathan Dayton , Valerie Faris (video producers & directors), Dominic Sena (video director), & Janet Jackson for Rhythm Nation 1814

New Age

• Best New Age Performance
  • Peter Gabriel for Passion - Music For the Last Temptation of Christ

Packaging and Notes

• Best Album Package
  • Roger Gorman (art director) for Sound + Vision performed by David Bowie
• Best Album Notes
  • Phil Schaap (notes writer) for Bird - The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve

Polka

• Best Polka Recording
  • Jimmy Sturr for All in My Love for You

Pop

• Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female
  • Bonnie Raitt for "Nick of Time"
• Best Vocal Performance, Male
  • Michael Bolton for "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"
• Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
  • Aaron Neville & Linda Ronstadt for "Don't Know Much"
• Best Pop Instrumental Performance
  • The Neville Brothers for "Healing Chant"

Production and engineering

• Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
  • George Massenburg (engineer) for Cry Like a Rainstorm - Howl Like the Wind performed by Linda Ronstadt
• Best Engineered Recording, Classical
  • Jack Renner (engineer), Robert Shaw (conductor), the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & the Atlanta Boy Choir for Britten: War Requiem
• Producer of the Year
  • Peter Asher
• Classical Producer of the Year
  • Robert Woods

R&B

• Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female
  • Anita Baker for Giving You the Best That I Got
• Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male
  • Bobby Brown for "Every Little Step"
• Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
  • Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler for "Back to Life"
• Best R&B Instrumental Performance
  • Soul II Soul for "African Dance"
• Best Rhythm & Blues Song
  • Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff (songwriters) for "If You Don't Know Me By Now" performed by Simply Red

Rap

• Best Rap Performance
  • Young MC for "Bust a Move"

Reggae

• Best Reggae Recording
  • Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers for One Bright Day

Rock

• Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female
  • Bonnie Raitt for Nick of Time
• Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male
  • Don Henley for The End of the Innocence
• Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
  • Traveling Wilburys for Traveling Wilburys Volume One
• Best Rock Instrumental Performance
  • Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio & Tony Hymas for Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio & Tony Hymas
• Best Hard Rock Performance
  • Living Colour for "Cult of Personality"
• Best Metal Performance
  • Metallica for "One"

Spoken

• Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Recording
  • Gilda Radner for It's Always Something