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Mars provided the night's big upset, taking the album of the year trophy that most critics assumed would go to Lamar's rap tour de force, Damn.
In the end, voters found Mars's crowd-pleasing R&B more palatable, while Lamar dominated the rap categories.
Alessia Cara won best new artist - making her the only female artist to win a major prize.
Stars like Lady Gaga, Kesha, Lorde and SZA were overlooked, with only 17 awards (out of a total of 86) going to women or female-fronted bands.
The imbalance was particularly incongruous on a night that highlighted the #TimesUp and #MeToo campaigns.
Most performers arrived for the show wearing a white rose to symbolise their support for the movements, which tackle sexual harassment and inequality.
Pop star Kesha also gave a powerful, stirring performance of her single Praying, which addresses her own experience of surviving abuse.
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She was backed by an all-star choir, including Cyndi Lauper and Camila Cabello, who were dressed in white to reflect the white rose campaign.
"We come in peace but we mean business," said R&B star Janelle Monae, introducing the performance.
"To those who would dare try to silence us, we offer two words: Time's Up.
"We say Time's Up for pay inequality, discrimination or harassment of any kind, and the abuse of power."
"Let's work together, women and men, as a united music industry committed to creating more safe work environments, equal pay, and access for all women."
Grammys 2018
Album of the year: Bruno Mars - 24K Magic
Record of the year: Bruno Mars - 24K Magic
Song of the year: Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
Best new artist: Alessia Cara
Best pop album: Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide)
Best rock album: The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
Best R&B album: Bruno Mars - 24k Magic
Best rap album: Kendrick Lamar - Damn
Mars left with six trophies in all, including the three biggest prizes: Album of the year, song of the year and record of the year.
Speaking onstage, he paid tribute to his fellow nominees, saying: "You guys are the reason why I'm in the studio pulling my hair out".
He also told the story of how, as a 15-year-old in Hawaii, he performed in a show called The Magic of Polynesia, singing songs by R&B writers Babyface, Jam & Lewis and Teddy Riley.
"I'll be honest, I was incredible at 15," he laughed, before explaining how he'd wanted to recapture the sounds of those 80s and 90s hits on his latest album.
"Those songs were written with nothing but joy... and that's all I wanted to bring with this album. Hopefully I could feel that again and see everybody dancing and everybody moving."
As well as the star's own prizes, his recording engineers won a further award for their work on the album.
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