Aotearoa Music Award for Album of the Year

Album of the Year (Māori: Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau) is an Aotearoa Music Award that honours New Zealand music artists for outstanding album. The award was first awarded in 1973 as part of the Recording Arts Talent Awards (RATA).^[1]

Te Tino Pukaemi o te Tau Album of the Year
Previous: 2025 29 May 2025
Bic Runga has won the award twice
Awarded for	Excellence in New Zealand Music
Sponsored by	NZ On Air
First award	1973
Currently held by	Soft Power – Fazerdaze
Aotearoa Music Awards

Singer-songwriter Bic Runga has won the award twice, in 1998 and 2006, while singer-songwriter Dave Dobbyn has won once as a solo artist in 1998 and twice with his band DD Smash in 1982 and 1983.

The award is sponsored by NZ On Air.

Recipients

Year	Winner	Album	Other finalists	Ref.
1973	John Donoghue	Spirit of Pelorus Jack	—	[2]
1974	No Album of the Year awarded			[3]
1975	John Hanlon	Higher Trails	—	[4]
1976	New Zealand Symphony Orchestra	Symphony #2		[5]
1977	No awards held
1978	Hello Sailor	Hello Sailor	—	[6]
1979	Street Talk	Street Talk		[7]
1980	Sharon O'Neill	Sharon O'Neill		[8]
1981	Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos	Dave McArtney and the Pink Flamingos	Dennis O'Brien - Still in the Same Dream Hammond Gamble - Hammond Gamble Band	[9]
1982	DD Smash	Cool Bananas	—	[10]
1983	DD Smash	Live: Deep in the Heart of Taxes	Herbs - Light of the Pacific Dance Exponents/The Legionnaires - Live at Mainstreet	[11]
1984	Dance Exponents	Prayers Be Answered	The Mockers - Swear It's True Patsy Riggir - You'll Never Take The Country Out Of Me	[12]
1985	Netherworld Dancing Toys	Painted Years	Shona Laing - Genre Herbs - Long Ago	[13]
1986	Peking Man	Peking Man	The Verlaines - Hallelujah All the Way Home Patsy Riggir - Patsy Riggir Country	[14]
1987	Herbs	Sensitive to a Smile	Dave Dobbyn - Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale Ardijah - Ardijah	[15]
1988	Dave Dobbyn	Loyal	Shona Laing - South The Warratahs - Only Game in Town	[16]
1989	Margaret Urlich	Safety In Numbers	Fan Club - Respect the Beat The Front Lawn - Songs from the Front Lawn	[17]
1990	The Chills	Submarine Bells	Brian Smith - Moonlight Sax Straitjacket Fits - Melt	[18]
1991	No awards held
1992	Headless Chickens	Body Blow	Midge Marsden - Burning Rain MC OJ & Rhythm Slave - What Can We Say?	[19]
1993	The Mutton Birds	The Mutton Birds	Jan Hellriegel - It's My Sin Shona Laing - New on Earth	[20]
1994	Straitjacket Fits	Blow	Strawpeople - World Service The 3Ds - The Venus Trail	[21]
1995	Supergroove	Traction	The Mutton Birds - Salty Dave Dobbyn - Twist Head Like A Hole - Flik Y'Self Off Y'Self Shona Laing - Shona	[22]
1996	Shihad	Killjoy	Finn Brothers - Finn Howard Morrison - Songs of New Zealand Max Lines - Beautiful Panflute I Starlight String Quartet - Romantic Strings Suzanne Prentice - 25th Anniversary Album	[23]
1997	Strawpeople	Vicarious	Emma Paki - Oxygen of Love Garageland - Last Exit to Garageland OMC - How Bizarre The Mutton Birds - Envy of Angels	[24]
1998	Bic Runga	Drive	Salmonella Dub - Calming of the Drunken Monkey Rob Guest - Standing Ovation The Stereo Bus - The Stereo Bus Greg Johnson - Chinese Whispers	[25]
1999	The Feelers	Supersystem	Che Fu - 2b S.Pacific Neil Finn - Try Whistling This	[26]
2000	Stellar	Mix	Shihad - The General Electric Ardijah - Time Salmonella Dub - Killervision The Mutton Birds - Rain, Steam and Speed	[27]
2001	Zed	Silencer	Dave Dobbyn - Hopetown Fur Patrol - Pet Tadpole - The Buddhafinger Tim Finn, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga - Together in Concert: Live	[28]
2002	Che Fu	The Navigator	Anika Moa - Thinking Room Neil Finn - One Nil Salmonella Dub - Inside the Dub Plates The Feelers - Communicate	[29]
2003	The Datsuns	The Datsuns	Pacifier - Pacifier Goldenhorse - Riverhead Bic Runga - Beautiful Collision Nesian Mystik - Polysaturated	[30]
2004	Scribe	The Crusader	Brooke Fraser - What to Do with Daylight Dimmer - You've Got to Hear the Music Goodshirt - Fiji Baby The Phoenix Foundation - Horsepower	[31]
2005	Fat Freddy's Drop	Based on a True Story	Breaks Co-Op - The Sound Inside Finn Brothers - Everyone Is Here Shihad - Love Is the New Hate The Phoenix Foundation - Pegasus	[32]
2006	Bic Runga	Birds	Don McGlashan - Warm Hand Dave Dobbyn - Available Light Concord Dawn - Chaos by Design Elemeno P - Trouble in Paradise	[33]
2007	The Mint Chicks	Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!	Brooke Fraser - Albertine Evermore - Real Life Hollie Smith - Long Player Opshop - Second Hand Planet	[34]
2008	Flight of the Conchords	Flight of the Conchords	Anika Moa - In Swings the Tide Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning Scribe - Rhyme Book Tiki Taane - Past, Present, Future	[35]
2009	Ladyhawke	Ladyhawke	The Mint Chicks - Screens Midnight Youth - The Brave Don't Run Cut Off Your Hands - You & I Fat Freddy's Drop - Dr Boondigga and the Big BW	[36]
2010	Gin Wigmore	Holy Smoke	Anika Moa - Love in Motion Dane Rumble - The Experiment Shapeshifter - The System Is a Vampire The Phoenix Foundation – Buffalo	[37]
2011	The Naked and Famous	Passive Me, Aggressive You	Ladi6 – The Liberation Of... Brooke Fraser – Flags Avalanche City – Our New Life Above The Ground David Dallas – The Rose Tint	[38]
2012	Kimbra	Vows	Home Brew – Home Brew Opossum – Electric Hawaii Six60 – Six60 The Adults – The Adults	[39]
2013	Aaradhna	Treble & Reverb	Fat Freddy's Drop – Blackbird Shapeshifter – Delta The Phoenix Foundation – Fandango Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II	[40]
2014	Lorde	Pure Heroine	Tiny Ruins - Brightly Painted One The Naked and Famous - In Rolling Waves Sol3 Mio - Sol3 Mio Ladi6 - Automatic	[41]
2015	Broods	Evergreen	Marlon Williams – Marlon Williams Shihad – FVEY Six60 – Six60 Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love	[42]
2016	Broods	Conscious	Aaradhna – Brown Girl Fat Freddy's Drop – Bays Hollie Smith – Water or Gold Tami Neilson – Don't Be Afraid The Phoenix Foundation – Give Up Your Dreams	[43]
2017	Lorde	Melodrama	Aldous Harding – Party David Dallas – Hood Country Club Fazerdaze – Morningside Leisure – Leisure SWIDT – Stoneyhunga	[44]
2018	Marlon Williams	Make Way for Love	Alien Weaponry – Tū Julia Deans – We Light Fire Six60 – Six60 EP Tami Neilson – Sassafrass! Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food	[45]
2019	Avantdale Bowling Club	Avantdale Bowling Club	Aldous Harding – Designer The Beths – Future Me Hates Me Broods – Don't Feed the Pop Monster Mitch James – Mitch James Marlon Williams – Live at Auckland Town Hall	[46]
2020	The Beths	Jump Rope Gazers	L.A.B. – L.A.B III Nadia Reid – Out of My Province Reb Fountain – Reb Fountain Six60 – Six60 Tami Neilson – Chickaboom!	[47]
2021	L.A.B.	L.A.B. IV	Benee – Hey U X Crowded House - Dreamers Are Waiting The Phoenix Foundation - Friend Ship Teeks - Something to Feel Troy Kingi - The Ghost of Freddie Cesar	[48]
2022	L.A.B.	L.A.B. V	Rob Ruha – Preservation of Scenery Tami Neilson – Kingmaker Lorde – Solar Power Reb Fountain – Iris Aldous Harding – Warm Chris	[49][50]
2023	No awards held
2024	The Beths	Expert In A Dying Field	Avantdale Bowling Club – TREES COTERIE – COTERIE Erny Belle – Not Your Cupid Home Brew – Run It Back LEISURE – Leisurevision Marlon Williams – My Boy Paige – King Clown Princess Chelsea – Everything Is Going To Be Alright Stan Walker – All In The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field Tiny Ruins – Ceremony Unknown Mortal Orchestra – V	[51]
2025	Fazerdaze	Soft Power	Aaradhna — Sweet Surrender Anna Coddington — Te Whakamiha CHAII — Safar Georgia Lines — The Rose Of Jericho Jordan Rakei — The Loop Kaylee Bell — Nights Like This L.A.B — L.A.B VI Mel Parsons — Sabotage MOKOTRON — WAEREA Tami Neilson — Neilson Sings Nelson Troy Kingi — Leatherman And The Mojave Green	[52]