Interesting, I never would have considered Mumford and Sons Americana, but I am no authority on the genre nor was I aware that they had even been nominated as an Americana album. Thankfully, best album is non-genre specific.
Actually, I only figured out I liked Americana when Amazon started recommending me Americana albums based on ones I had bought that I just bought because I liked the music.
As for the genre gaining exposure... even though there wasn't a formal Americana category, I feel that the successes of albums like the Plant & Krauss album a few years ago amongst others would do more for the genre than Mumford and Sons.
Pinning down an Americana genre isn't really easy, which I'm fine with. I like the fact that it blurs the genre lines between rock, country, and folk. Creativity is best when it respects no boundaries.
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