Rapper Lil Wayne is on top of this year’s Grammy nominations with a whopping eight nods, followed by Coldplay with seven.

Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West were close behind with six each as the nominations showed a youthful edge. Click here to view full list of Grammy nominations.

But once it’s all said and done, aren’t we fearful the duo of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant will walk away with Album of the Year, showing once again that the Grammys can be hip, but are fearful of taking it all the way.

That’s one of several burning Grammy questions I have.

– Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” was popular and fun, and we get making concessions to the year’s best-selling CD. But wasn’t his Album of the Year nomination still a shock?

– Didn’t you just know the Eagles and Alicia Keys would be Album of the Year nominees — although they weren’t.

– Aren’t you OK with Leona Lewis and Katy Perry getting left out of the Best New Artist category?

– Won’t Best New Artist nominees Adele and Duffy cancel each other out?

– Could the same thing happen to Coldplay and Radiohead for Album of the Year?

– Jonas Brothers as a Best New Artist nominee — seriously?

– When did women officially vanish from the rock categories?

– Doesn’t the Urban/Alternative Performance category deserve a recount?

– Beyonce’s new music was released too late to be nominated, but was it really necessary to hand her an obligatory nomination for an old song on her live DVD?

– How disappointed is Taylor Swift with her no-show, particularly after co-hosting Wednesday night’s Grammy special.

– Who did Carrie Underwood tick off this year?

– What the heck happened to Erykah Badu’s “New Amerykah Part 1: 4th World War,” which only earned a music video nomination for “Honey.”

– How cool is it that Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” CD is an Album of the Year contender?