The very title of the award holds a great deal of potency: Record of the Year. In other words, of all the thousands of songs recorded in the previous year, this one is the very best. Not too shabby, which is why so many artists and their producers covet this particular Grammy Award. At the ceremonies held in 1991, the Record of the Year went to “Another Day In Paradise” by Phil Collins. Did it deserve that accolade? We look back at the year’s nominees and decide.

“Vision Of Love” by Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey chose very well when it came to the first single of her career. “Vision Of Love”, which Carey penned with Ben Margulies, is a well-written song, first and foremost. The production, done by Rhett Lawrence and Narada Michael Walden, doesn’t try to do much. Instead, it lets Carey take center stage with a superbly measured performance, going from bluesy and bereft to emotive and cathartic at exactly the right pace.

“Another Day In Paradise” by Phil Collins

Phil Collins transformed from the drummer in a somewhat obscure art-rock outfit into one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. To make such a move, you have to change up your approach now and again. Instead of going for the crowd-pleasing vibe that he copped through much of the 80s, he went stark and scolding on “Another Day In Paradise”. David Crosby is in the mix somewhere, providing backing vocals.

“U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer

The first-ever rap song to earn a Record of the Year nomination, “U Can’t Touch This” acted as a kind of trailblazer. Typically for the Grammys, they dipped their toes into the hip-hop water with a song that was nice and safe for the mainstream. Plus, there was the “Super Freak” sample, which made it instantly recognizable. Still, while Hammer was a crowd-pleaser as a record-maker, his flow couldn’t hold a candle to some of the other MCs of the era.

“From A Distance” by Bette Midler

The story goes that songwriter Julie Gold sent “From A Distance” to many artists, only to get rejection. She then sent it to Nanci Griffith for advice on how to improve it. Griffith loved it as it was and made the first recording. Once Bette Midler got hold of it, producer Arif Mardin added sweeping orchestration and backing vocals to play up the inspirational feel of it. Midler, meanwhile, gave a lovely performance, understated until it needs to go big.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’ Connor

Sinead O’ Connor was known for her quirky songwriting early in her career, a critical favorite without a big hit. She found this song on a record by The Family, one of Prince’s countless protégé acts. The cavernous production (by O’Connor, Nellee Hooper, and Chris Birkett) utilizes the subtly synthetic sounds to contrast the heartbreaking humanity of O’Connor’s performance. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but if you’re like us, you still get chills.

The Verdict

This is a pretty solid group of records up for Record of the Year in 1991, with not a clunker in the bunch (which you can’t always take for granted with the Grammys). Still, we’d throw out “U Can’t Touch This” (a bit too calculated) and “From A Distance” (somewhat saccharine) off the bat.

“Another Day In Paradise” is solid, but it’s not at the level of some of Collins’ early solo brooders, which it wants to emulate. “Vision Of Love” is one of Carey’s best-ever records, which is saying something considering it was her first. But the staggering performance by Sinead O’Connor should have delivered the gold to “Nothing Compares 2 U” that Grammy night.

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