Los Angeles Times January 11, 1991, Friday, Home Edition COMMENTARY; WHY DON'T GRAMMY VOTERS WANT SINEAD O'CONNOR?; POP MUSIC: HER 'I DO NOT WANT WHAT I HAVEN'T GOT' WAS FAR AND AWAY THE MOST ACCLAIMED ALBUM OF 1990, BUT THE ACADEMY OPTED FOR COMMERCIALITY. By ROBERT HILBURN, TIMES POP MUSIC CRITIC So much for hoping last year's Milli Vanilli scandal would have made the Grammy voters more conscientious. There are worthy names spread through the list of 1990 nominations, but the five selections for best album -- the most prestigious award -- underscore the continuing problem with the Grammy voting process. The 6,000 voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences once again made choices that are more in keeping with the commercial pulse of pop than with the creative. That usually means catering to the lowest common denominator. The most glaring -- and depressing -- omission in the best-album category is Sinead O'Connor, the controversial Irish artist. O'Connor was nominated in the best single record category for her version of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." But her "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" was not among the album nominees even though it was far and away the most acclaimed collection of 1990. "I Do Not Want . . ." contained a series of songs about betrayal and faith that carried the intimate, confessional tone of John Lennon's 1970 solo album debut. It would be easy to think that the slight in the album balloting was due in part to a backlash among some academy voters. O'Connor, 24, made headlines at several points during 1990, most notably in May when she canceled an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" after raunchy comedian Andrew Dice Clay was named to host the show and again in August when she refused to allow the national anthem to be played before one of her concerts. More likely, however, the voters just didn't recognize the difference between the artistry of O'Connor and the minimal pop vision of the actual nominees, including Phil Collins, Wilson Phillips, M.C. Hammer and Mariah Carey. For the fifth position, the Grammy voters stood by Quincy Jones, a respected veteran who has already won 19 Grammys, and who looms in this weak field as the only legitimate choice. It's not unusual for the Grammy voters to go for the conservative hit-makers such as Collins and Wilson Phillips rather than the bold or challenging artists who both define the times in their music and stretch the boundaries of pop. But there has been progress, under the leadership of academy president Michael Greene, in making the Grammy balloting more credible by encouraging an influx of younger members. The result is that such creative forces as Prince, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Tracy Chapman have been nominated in recent years for best album or best record. It also good this year to see O'Connor nominated for best record -- as well as such other legitimate choices as Public Enemy, rap group performance; Neil Young, male rock vocal; Garth Brooks, male country vocal; Aerosmith, rock group performance, and Faith No More and Jane's Addiction for hard-rock performance. For the most part, however, this year's choices are a major step back. Too bad they come the year after Milli Vanilli was awarded a Grammy for best new artist. The academy members certainly weren't aware that Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus didn't actually sing on the record, but they should have known that the lightweight, teen-oriented dance-pop on the album was not worthy of a serious award. While more substantial than Milli Vanilli, the album nominees -- except for Jones' "Back on the Block" -- also seem too limited by ambition or accomplishment. The only place these four albums distinguished themselves during 1990 was on the sales charts. M.C. Hammer: 8 million albums sold. Phil Collins: 3 million. Wilson Phillips: 3 million. Mariah Carey: 2 million. One consolation. The voters missed Vanilla Ice: 8 million. GRAPHIC: Photo, Wilson Phillips -- Carnie Wilson, from left, Chynna Phillips and Wendy Wilson: nominations for best album and best new artist. SAM JONES; Photo, "Block" citations give Quincy Jones 74 career nominations.