Feb 1, 2003 12:00 PM, Blair Jackson

As we like to do every year, we're taking a moment to tip our hats to some of the engineers and producers who have been nominated for Grammy Awards, which will be given out February 23 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Generally speaking, there were few surprises among the nominees, with such popular, established artists as Eminem, Bruce Springsteen, Nelly and the Dixie Chicks racking up multiple nominations, and talented newcomers such as Norah Jones and Avril Lavigne making waves, as well. In fact, the only surprising omission that leaps to mind immediately is Sheryl Crow's “Soak Up the Sun” from either Song of the Year or Record of the Year — has there been a better summer single in the past decade? But we digress. As usual, there are scores of great, unpredictable choices spread among the 104 categories. Check out the complete listing at www.grammy.com. And congratulations to all of this year's nominees — you done good!

We'll have a list of the winners in the categories below, as well as comments from some, in our April issue.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

• “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. Ron Fair, producer; Tal Herzberg, Jack Joseph Puig and Michael C. Ross, engineer/mixers.

• “Without Me” by Eminem. Jeff Bass and Eminem, producers; Steve King, engineer/mixer.

• “Don't Know Why” by Norah Jones. Norah Jones, Arif Mardin and Jay Newland, producers; Mardin and Newland, engineer/mixers.

• “Dilemma” by Nelly, featuring Kelly Rowland. Bam and Ryan Bowser, producers; Brian Garten, engineer/mixer.

• “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback. Nickelback and Rick Parashar, producers; Joey Moi and Randy Staub, engineer/mixers.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• Home by the Dixie Chicks. Produced by the Dixie Chicks and Lloyd Maines; Gary Paczosa, engineer/mixer; Robert Hadley and Doug Sax, mastering.

• The Eminem Show by Eminem. Jeff Bass, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Denaun Porter, producers; Mauricio Iragorri and Steve King, engineer/mixers; Brian Gardner, mastering.

• Come Away With Me by Norah Jones. Norah Jones, Arif Mardin, Craig Street and Jay Newland, producers; Mardin, Newland and Husky Huskolds, engineer/mixers; Ted Jensen, mastering.

• Nellyville by Nelly. Jason Epperson, Just Blaze, The Neptunes, The Trackboyz and Wally Yaghnam, producers; Steve Eigner, Brian Garten, Russ Giraud, Gimel Keaton, Greg Morgenstein, Matt Still and Rich Travali, engineer/mixers; Herb Powers, mastering.

• The Rising by Bruce Springsteen. Brendan O'Brien, producer. Nick Didia and O'Brien, engineer/mixers; Bob Ludwig, mastering.

BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, NON-CLASSICAL

• Ask a Woman Who Knows by Natalie Cole. Elliot Scheiner and Al Schmitt, engineers.

• C'mon, C'mon by Sheryl Crow. Trina Shoemaker and Eric Tew, engineers.

• Come Away With Me by Norah Jones. Arif Mardin, Jay Newland and Husky Huskolds, engineers.

• Home by the Dixie Chicks. Gary Paczosa, engineer.

• Morning View by Incubus. Mike Einzinger, Dave Holdredge, Scott Litt and Rick Will, engineers.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL

• Dr. Dre, for songs by Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Truth Hurts, Warren G. and Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog.

• Nellee Hooper, for songs by Lamya and No Doubt.

• Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, for songs by Bryan Adams, Yolanda Adams, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey and Deborah Cox.

• Arif Mardin, for Norah Jones' Come Away With Me.

• Rick Rubin, for work with Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

BEST REMIXED RECORDING, NON-CLASSICAL

• “He Loves Me” by Jill Scott. Your Friends From San Francisco, remixers.

• “Hella Good” by No Doubt. Roger Sanchez, remixer.

• “Lost Love” by Rinôcerôse. Felix Da Housecat, remixer.

• “What About Us” by Brandy. Steve “Silk” Hurley, remixer.

• “Work It Out” by Beyonce Knowles. Maurice Joshua, remixer.

BEST ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL

• Chadwick: Orchestral Works. John Newton, engineer.

• Orff: Carmina Burana. Jack Renner engineer.

• Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances; Vocalise. Keith O. Johnson, engineer.

• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11. Tony Faulkner, engineer.

• Vaughan Williams: A Seas Symphony (No. 1). Michael Bishop, engineer.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL

• Andrew Cornall, for albums of music by Camilo, Mahler, Moussorgsky and Rossini.

• Manfred Eicher, for albums of music by Berio, Karaaindrou, Pärt, Silvestrov and others.

• James Mallinson, for albums of music by Elgar, Mozart, Reger and Shostakovich.

• Robert Woods for A Celtic Spectacular, the Latin Angeles Guitar Quartet, Scary Music and The Sound of Glory.

• Robina Young for albums of music by Bach, Brahms, Handel and Mendelssohn.

BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM

• Beethoven: String Quartets by the Takacs Quartet. Andrew Keener, producer.

• Bel Canto: Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, et al. by the Orchestra of St. Luke's. Erik Smith, producer.

• Mahler: Symphony No. 6 by the San Francisco Symphony. Andrea Neubronner, producer.

• Pärt: Orient and Occident by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Manfred Eicher, producer.

• Vaughan Williams: A Seas Symphony (No. 1) by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Thomas C. Moore, producer.