AP writers predict Grammy winners
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-02 11:33

BAUDER: Yeah, it's a name that's too easy for voters to write in.

Rap Album: "Be," Common; "The Cookbook," Missy Elliott; "Encore," Eminem; "The Massacre," 50 Cent; "Late Registration," Kanye West.

BAUDER: Isn't Eminem retired yet? Kanye's prominent role in the industry deserves notice, and here's where he will get it.

MOODY: Like last year, when Kanye won his trophies in the rap and R&B categories instead of the more mainstream categories, history will repeat itself with him winning here again.

Country Album: "Fireflies," Faith Hill; "Lonely Runs Both Ways," Alison Krauss and Union Station; "Time Well Wasted," Brad Paisley; "All Jacked Up," Gretchen Wilson; "Jasper County," Trisha Yearwood.

MOODY: Though "All Jacked Up" didn't have nearly the impact of Wilson's debut "Here for the Party," it's still just as potent. While Paisley will be a close second, he will still be second to Wilson.

BAUDER: The others are all polite, nice albums. But Gretchen Wilson really has it in gear, a formidable artist with a clear sense of who she is — and the heck with anyone else. Score another for the former bartender.

Alternative Music Album: "Funeral," The Arcade Fire; "Guero," Beck; "Plans," Death Cab for Cutie; "You Could Have It So Much Better," Franz Ferdinand; "Get Behind Me Satan," The White Stripes.

BAUDER: Simply because none of the other albums has a song as scintillating as "My Doorbell," I'm going with The White Stripes.

MOODY: Though Arcade Fire has more momentum going into the Grammys, I don't think Grammys will easily forget the sparkling work from the White Stripes. We haven't.