Grammys’ chance to get it right

GRAMMY credibility, for the second year in a row, revolves around a single artist: Kanye West.

Recording Academy voters, who have been hopelessly slow over the years to warm to pop’s most vital new artists and styles, avoided one major embarrassment last year by nominating the visionary rapper-producer’s “The College Dropout” in the album of the year category.

Unfortunately, the 12,000 Grammy voters ended up with egg on their face after all by giving the top album award to sentimental favorite Ray Charles for a much less substantial work.

Academy voters get a second chance to honor West because his “Late Registration” is an even stronger work than “Dropout.” Never say never, but there’s no way, given its sales and acclaim, that “Registration” won’t be among the five album of the year contenders when Grammy nominations are announced Thursday.

But the road to the finals may again be rough for West because there could be other highly respected acts among the nominees.

Here’s a look at the top Grammy races, with an emphasis on the artists who deserve to be among the five nominees in each category.

Album of the Year

Kanye West’s “Late Registration” (Roc-A-Fella). It usually takes more than quality work to get an album of the year nomination. It also helps to be a mainstream bestseller. “Registration” qualifies on both counts. Besides being a superb collection, it sold nearly 900,000 copies in the U.S. alone in its first week in stores.

The White Stripes’ “Get Behind Me Satan” (Third Man/V2). The Detroit duo is the most exciting young force in American rock, and this may just be the Stripes’ most absorbing work. A nomination may be a longshot because the Stripes’ “Elephant” was nominated in this category two years ago but lost to OutKast’s equally striking “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” The problem this time: “Satan” didn’t sell as much as “Elephant,” and Grammy voters have a way of equating lower sales with lower quality.

U2’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (Interscope). The Grammys love this great Irish band. U2’s 1987 album, “The Joshua Tree,” was the first pure rock album to win a best album Grammy since the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” two decades earlier. And this is one of the group’s strongest efforts. Only potential problem: It was released just after the close of the eligibility period last year, which means the album may no longer have been on voters’ minds as they went through the balloting process.

Bruce Springsteen’s “Devils & Dust” (Columbia). Some voters could look past this moving solo work because it wasn’t a commercial blockbuster. On the other hand, Springsteen has never won in this category, a gross oversight. And Recording Academy members, who vote in the competition, may feel it’s his turn.

And then: There are several viable candidates for the fifth nomination, including Eminem’s “Encore” (Interscope/Aftermath/Shady), 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” (Interscope/Aftermath/Shady) and Coldplay’s “X&Y;” (Capitol). But beware: Some spots could be taken by albums whose real strength was sales. That list could include works by Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas.

Record of the Year

I’m rooting for two wonderfully entertaining singles (West’s “Gold Digger” and 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop”) along with some eloquent, thoughtful ones (U2’s “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own,” Coldplay’s “Fix You,” John Legend’s “Ordinary People”). Yet the same bestsellers -- Carey through Black Eyed Peas -- could pop up here too.

New Artist

The Arcade Fire, the remarkably passionate Montreal rock conglomerate, was the most thrilling newcomer of 2005. But others would be worthy nominees, especially R&B; stylist John Legend and rock noir duo the Kills. Also deserving: electronica sensation LCD Soundsystem, rockers Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs, and R&B-soul; singer Fantasia. On the purely commercial side, voters might be seduced by the celebrity of Lindsay Lohan or Ashlee Simpson.