As everyone in our message boards knows, forums moderator David "Guru" Schnelwar is really an ultimate Grammy Guru — a bona-fide expert, David is. If no one has yet, officially, given him that title, then I do so right now at the same time I implore him to, please . . . HELP! Tell us, David: What's going to be nominated for the top three races: record, album and new artist of the year?

The eligibility period just passed at the end of September. Nominations aren't due out till Dec., 6, but you know award lunatics like us — we can't wait till then to start prognostication. Gotta know now, now, now.

Here, below, is the text rundown. David and I also had a separate chat on the phone, which I recorded and turned into a nifty podcast that you can listen to and I recommend that you do so — CLICK HERE! (Note: You may need to hold down your computer's control key while clicking!

HERE ARE THE PREDICTIONS (AND WORDS) OF DAVID 'GURU' SCHNELWAR:

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Feist - "1234"
Rihanna f/ Jay - "Umbrella"
Bruce Springsteen - "Radio Nowhere"
Kanye West - "Stronger"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Other Possibilities
Beyonce - "Irreplaceable"
Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right"
Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder"
Corinne Bailey Rae - "Like A Star"
Gwen Stefani f/ Akon - "The Sweet Escape"

This was a unpredictable year of music until we came closer to the end of the eligibility period.

Bruce Springsteen has been nominated previously three times for record of the year ("Born in the U.S.A.," "Dancing in the Dark" and "Streets of Philadelphia") and has never won. In the past eight years, four rock songs have won record of the year.

Rihanna f/ Jay-Z - "Umbrella" is too big a song to ignore. Several Best Rap/Sung Collaboration winners have been nominated in this category. ("Dilemma," "Crazy in Love," "Where is the Love" and "Yeah").

Kanye West is the biggest Rap artist out there and has the momentum to get nominated for his hit "Stronger."

Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" created a tremendous buzz because of its lyrics. It looks like a serious contender.

Feist's "1234" after months of airplay on VH1 and now on a very catchy iPod commercial, may now be a real possibility.

Let's all sing the praises of Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly for being the first topnotch music pundit to tell us who he's predicting will win eight leading Grammy races on Feb. 8.

Unfortunately, we don't know why Chris is making these forecasts. "I'm up in the mountains with the barest of Internet access!" he said by email over the holiday weekend, so we didn't press him to elaborate. We'll bug him later when he comes down from the mountaintop, hopefully with some clay tablets offering divine insight.

Meantime, "here goes nothing," Chris says most modestly. I advise all skeptics to take his gutsy forecasts seriously, however. In February 2004, when Chris and I competed against a half dozen other Grammy gurus at GoldDerby.com, he won.

RECORD OF THE YEAR
X - "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
"Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz featuring De La Soul
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day
"Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani
"Gold Digger," Kanye West

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"The Emancipation of Mimi," Mariah Carey
"Chaos and Creation in the Backyard," Paul McCartney
"Love, Angel, Music, Baby," Gwen Stefani
X - "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2
"Late Registration," Kanye West

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Bless the Broken Road"
"Devils & Dust"
"Ordinary People"
X - "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"
"We Belong Together"

BEST NEW ARTIST
Ciara
Fall Out Boy
Keane
X - John Legend
Sugarland

BEST R&B ALBUM
"Illumination," Earth, Wind & Fire
"Free Yourself," Fantasia
X - "Unplugged," Alicia Keys
"Get Lifted," John Legend
"A Time to Love," Stevie Wonder

BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Jack Johnson, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"
Paul McCartney, "Fine Line"
Seal, "Walk on By"
X - Rob Thomas, "Lonely No More"
Stevie Wonder, "From the Bottom of My Heart"

BEST FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Emmylou Harris, "The Connection"
Faith Hill, "Mississippi Girl"
Gretchen Wilson, "All Jacked Up"
X - Lee Ann Womack, "I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
Trisha Yearwood, "Georgia Rain"

BEST RAP SONG
"Candy Shop," Curtis Jackson & Scott Storch, songwriters (50 Cent featuring Olivia)
X - "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," D. Harris & Kanye West, songwriters; (J. Barry & D. Black, songwriters) (Kanye West)

"Don't Phunk with My Heart," William Adams, Printz Board, Stacy Ferguson & George Pajon, Jr., songwriters; (Kalyanji Anandji, Full Force & Indeewar, songwriters) (The Black Eyed Peas)

"Hate It or Love It," Curtis Jackson, A. Lyon, Jayceon Taylor & M. Valenzano, songwriters; (Baker, Felder & Harris, songwriters) (The Game featuring 50 Cent)

"Lose Control," M. Elliott, C. Harris & G. Isaacs III, songwriters; (J. Atkins, R. Davis & C. Hudson, songwriters) (Missy Elliott featuring Ciara & Fat Man Scoop)

Photo: Music reporter Chris Willman believes U2's "Atomic Bomb" will decimate the competition in the album and song of the year contests.
(Interscope Records)