NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS

• National Medal of Arts Recipient – 2020

COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME

• Artist-In-Residence, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum – 2013
• Country Music Hall of Fame Member – Class of 2018
  

GRAMMY AWARDS (15 Total)

• Best Country Instrumental Performance – 1983, 1984, 1986
• Best Country Vocal Collaboration (with Vince Gill & Steve Wariner) – 1991
• Best Country Vocal Collaboration for “Same Old Train” – 1998
• Best Bluegrass Album (for Bluegrass Rules!) – 1998
• Best Bluegrass Album (for Ancient Tones) – 1999
• Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album of the Year (for Soldier of the Cross) – 2000
• Best Country Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocals (for song, “A Simple Life”) – 2003
• Best Bluegrass Album (for Brand New Strings) – 2004
• Best Musical Album for Children – Various Artists (for Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers) – 2005
• Best Bluegrass Album (for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder Instrumentals) – 2006
• Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album of the Year (with The Whites for Salt of the Earth) – 2007
• Best Bluegrass Album (for Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass) – 2008
• Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (as producer for Love Remains by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family) – 2016

INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION (IBMA) HALL OF FAME

• IBMA Hall of Fame Member 2018 inductee

INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION (IBMA) AWARDS

• Album of the Year (for Bluegrass Rules!) – 1998
• Instrumental Group of the Year (with Kentucky Thunder) – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Recorded Event of the Year (for Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza) – 2000
• Instrumental Album of the Year (for Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza) – 2000
• Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year for song “Singing As We Rise” – The Gibson Brothers with Ricky Skaggs – 2012
• Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year for song “Sacred Memories” – Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers with Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White Skaggs – 2017 (tie)

COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION (CMA) AWARDS

• Male Vocalist of the Year – 1982
• Horizon Award – 1982
• Instrumental Group of the Year – 1983, 1984, 1985
• Entertainer of the Year – 1985
• Vocal Duo of the Year (with Sharon White Skaggs) – 1987
• Vocal Event of the Year (with Mark O’Connor & New Nashville Cats) – 1991

ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) AWARDS

• New Male Vocalist – 1981
• Touring Band of the Year – 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
• Best Specialty Instrument (Mandolin) – 1984, 1987
• Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award – 2012

MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME

• Musicians Hall of Fame Member 2016 inductee

TNN/MUSIC CITY NEWS AWARDS

• Bluegrass Act of the Year – 1982, 1983, 1984
• Star of Tomorrow – 1983
• Instrumentalist of the Year – 1988, 1989, 1990
• Vocal Collaboration of the Year (with Vince Gill & Patty Loveless) – 1996

GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION (GMA) HALL OF FAME

• GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame Member 2012 inductee

GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION (GMA) DOVE AWARDS

• Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year for “Are You Afraid to Die?” – 2001
• Bluegrass Recorded Album of the Year for Salt of the Earth with The Whites – 2008

AMERICANA MUSIC ASSOCIATION (AMA) AWARDS

• Lifetime Achievement Award, Instrumentalist – 2015

INSPIRATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC (ICM) AWARDS

• Musician of the Year, Christian Country Music Association – 1994, 1995
• Musician of the Year – 2008, 2011
• Mainstream Country Artist (with The Whites) – 2008
• Inspirational Bluegrass Artist (with The Whites) – 2008
• Mainstream Country Artist – 2009
• Inspirational Bluegrass Artist – 2010
• Entertainer of the Year – 2011

FRET’S MAGAZINE READER’S POLL

• Best Instrumentalist – 1980
• Overall Best Instrumentalist – 1981
• Best Multi-Instrumentalist – 1980, 1982, 1987, 1988

MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

• Radio & Records Best New Artist – 1982
• Billboard Magazine’s Artist of the Year – 1983
• White Dove Award, Ralph Stanley’s Bluegrass Festival – 1982
• Country A #1 Best – March 12, 1983
• Super Country Band – March 12, 1983
• Cashbox Magazine Male Vocalist of the Year – 1984
• Country’s Best of the Best – August 26, 1984
• Best Selling Country Album by Male Artist (for Don’t Cheat in our Hometown), NARM ‘Gift of Music’ Award – 1984
• American Video Awards, Best Country Video for “Country Boy” – 1985
• Most Popular International (Male) Solo, The Country Music Round-Up Awards (England) – 1986
• Country String Instrumentalist, Playboy Music Poll – 1986, 1989
• Best Country Album, (for Love’s Gonna Get Ya!), Edison Award, The Netherlands – 1987
• Best Country Guitarist, Guitar Player Magazine Readers’ Poll – 1987, 1988, 1989
• USO 50th Anniversary Award – 1989
• Top 100 Guitarists of the 20th Century, Musician Magazine – 1993
• Christian Country Artist of the Year, Gospel Voice Diamond Award – 1993
• Bluegrass/Old Time Music Album of the Year (for Bluegrass Rules!), Nashville Music Awards – 1999
• Artist of the Decade, Listener’s Poll Award, BBC Radio 2 – 1999
• Golden Voice Bluegrass Award – 2002
• Honorary Doctorate of American Heritage Arts, Hocking College, Nelsonville, OH – 2002
• American Inspirations Awards, Presidential Prayer Team – 2002
• CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music – 2003
• Kentucky Music Hall of Fame Member – 2004
• Kentucky Governor’s National Award – 2004
• Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY – 2005
• Honorary Doctorate of Music, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA – 2008
• Uncle Dave Macon Days Heritage Award – 2013
• Artist-In-Residence, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum – 2013
• Applause Award, Belmont University, Nashville, TN – 2014
• Lexington Music Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award – 2016
• ASCAP Country Music Founders Award – 2016
• Bluegrass Heritage Foundation’s Bluegrass Star Award® – 2017
• The National Fiddler Hall of Fame Member 2018 inductee
• The Telly Awards, performance in Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s BIG NIGHT (At the Museum) Fundraiser – 2021