If you are interested in records, then you know just how expensive some of them can be in today’s world (I’m still feeling it after paying almost $500 for an Eddie Hazel, Game, Dames, and Guitar Thangs early pressing).
And as the debate over what some experts call the world’s most valuable vinyl record rages, from limited-editions, and signed records, to all the others that are worth 100x their weight in gold for collectors, this is the bonafide top 20, based on what people have paid so far:
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Are Vinyl Records Worth Collecting?
Vinyl records are a great item to start collecting. Not only does it have incredible sentimental value as you can start collecting records from your favorite bands, or maybe your parents’ favorite bands, but they are a timeless item to collect. You can find records from several years ago, to the most recent album release.
Are Vinyl Records a Good Investment?
But are they a good item to collect if you’re trying to make a profit? Again, yes!
While some records aren’t anything special, they simply can be a great item to add to your ever-expanding collection, if you have limited-edition, special-editions, or stumble across a rare and once-in-a-lifetime find, then you’re probably going to be able to make a great investment.
Records, especially these days with how trendy it’s become, can make a pretty great value. Especially with several bands releasing limited-time vinyls. If you’re able to get your hands on one of those and keep it in great shape, you could sell it for a higher price.
Most Valuable Vinyl Records
20. Prince’s Untitled “Black Album”, $27,500
Discdogs is one of the leading database and marketplace for music enthusiast and collectors. You can search through their entire selection and find vinyl’s that you want or need to finish your collection, or to just jam out to.
And in 2018, the sale of one of Prince’s albums, “The Black Album” was one of the most expensive records in Discdogs history, selling for over $27,000. The copy was the only known Canadian version of the record which was salvaged by a pressing plant employee in 1987.
Which is the same year that Prince was planning on releasing the album, however, when the date closed, Prince obsessed with the idea that the album was ‘evil’ and ordered all copies be destroyed. No wonder it was such a huge find.
19. Frank Wilson “Do I Love You”, $35,000
This vinyl record is a single by American soul singer and producer Frank Wilson. It was sold for a massive GBP £25,742 at an auction in May 2009. Which is around $35,000.
There were said to be only 250 copies of this single, out of which only about five are said to have survived, while the rest were destroyed by Berry Gordy, the Motown boss.
18. Bob Dylan “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” $35,000
The second album by Bob Dylan released in 1963 is one of the rarest records in the world, and in 2012, another copy was found and sold for $35,000. The album features two original compositions, eleven of the thirteen tracks on “Freewheelin” were written by Dylan.
And what makes this album so unique and valuable is that prior to the album’s release, four of the songs were replaced with four newly recorded tracks.
While there are theories behind why, the main thing that matters is that one pressing plant didn’t get the message of the change, so they used the old stamp to create the records, meaning there are two different ones out there, the old stamp being incredibly hard to find.
17. Tommy Johnson “Alcohol and Jake Blues”, $37,100
This was a 78-rpm blues record that fetched over $37,000 in an auction in 2013. It was purchased by an Oregon-based record collector. This extremely rare copy of ‘Alcohol and Jake Blues’ was released in 1930.
16. Pink Floyd’s “King Bee”/”Lucy Leave”, $31,752
“I’m A King Bee” is originally written and first recorded by Slim Harpo in 1957, but Pink Floyd recorded their version, as well as several other songs, in 1964, and was officially issues on the vinyl-only 1965: Their First Recordings (2015), which also featured “Lucy Leave” as well. The value for this vinyl is estimated at $31.752.
15. Aphex Twin “Caustic Window”, $46,300
It is essential to understand that most of the records on this list are valuable because of age and rarity. And in 2014, this lost Aphex Twin’s record appeared in the top 10 most expensive vinyl records list as this allegedly lost record was sold for $46,300.
The record was purchased by Minecraft creator Markus Persson.
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14. The Beatles’ “Please Please Me” $38,103
An acetate version of “Please Please Me”, the debut studio album by the Beatles and released in the UK in 1963 and had an £30,000+ (which is around $38,000) offer that was declined. The Beatles are one of the most well-known and renowned bands of all time, so it’s no wonder that they’ve produced some of the most valuable vinyl records ever.
13. Scaramanga Silk’s “Choose Your Weapon”, $41,095
The 2018 record was quickly broken though from Discdogs, as a 2021 sale topped the previous record. “Choose Your Weapon” by Scaramange Silk is from London and self-released the album in 2008, only having 20 copies. The vinyl came with an accompanying poem, an art print and a CD, making it a decent gift box. The sale reaches over $40,000, making it one of the most valuable vinyl records.
12. Michael Jackson “What More Can I Give” $50,000
Michael Jackson is another incredibly well-known name in the music industry, so it’s no shock that one of his albums reached a whopping amount of $50,000 which was sold over eBay in 2015. The Album “What More Can I Give” was recorded in 2001 and was Mandela-inspired and was issued as a charity single for the refugees of the Kosovo War, which ended in 1999.
11. The Beatles “Love Me Do”, $50,000
We’ve talked about the studio debut album, but let’s talk about the official debut single that put the Beatles on the board. Love Me Do, backed by P.S. I Love You, originally released in the UK 1962 and peaked at number 17. It released in the US 1964 and topped the nation’s charts. And apparently, the one-sided acetate and only unedited version with count-in is estimated $50,000 or more.
10. The Beatles “Til There Was Your”, $100,000
This 10-inch acetate is touted to be the ‘Holy Grail’ for all collectors of Beatles records. This was an early demo that the group created and featured two songs – ‘Til There Was Your’ and ‘Hello Little Girl,’ which was misspelled on the record and appeared as ‘Hullo Little Girl.’
Amazingly, the record was actually found simply languishing in the attic of Les Maguire, who was a keyboardist for Gerry and The Pacemakers. He came to possess the record during his tenure on the band.
This record, described as being the record that launched The Beatles, was sold to an anonymous buyer in March 2016 for GBP £77,500 ($100,000).
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9. The Beatles “Yesterday & Today”, $125,000
Another rare vinyl record that finds its way onto this list is this compilation by The Beatles from 1966. This record was released only in North America, followed by Japan. The record was never released in Europe.
The record is famous for its scarcity because it was only in the earlier versions was the infamous ‘butcher’ cover featured. It had Paul, John, Ringo, and George all draped in pieces of meat and dismembered dolls.
Due to the outrage, the cover was quickly withdrawn and replaced with a much more tame cover. Nevertheless, the original record with the ‘butcher’ cover still remains a very much sought-after item, especially for Beatles collectors.
A mint edition sealed copy of this record was sold at auction in 2017 for $125,000.
8. Frank Wilson “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)”, $127,010
Frank Wilson is a soul singer and his single “Do I Love You” was first pressed in 1965 on the Motown subsidiary label Soul. It’s a prized item amongst collectors, as there are very few. Approximately 250 demos of the song were pressed, but upon Frank Wilson decision on wanting to focus on producing, a lot of the demos were destroyed. At least two, maybe five, survived, and have fetched quite a price. The most recent and highest price was £100,000 in 2020, which is around $127,000.
7. John Lennon & Yoko “Double Fantasy”, $150,000
This copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Double Fantasy’ was sold for a whopping $150,000 in 1999 because of a tiny detail that made the record become so valuable.
This vinyl record was signed by John Lennon himself just hours before his death on December 8, 1980. This is believed to be the last record signed by Lennon, thus going on to become of the most expensive records to be ever sold.
6. The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, $290,000
This was an original 1967 pressing record that went for such a high price owing to the fact that it was signed by all four Beatles. The record was sold at an auction in 2013 for $290,000 to a buyer from the Midwest in the US.
If you don’t have $290k for an original pressing signed by The Beatles, pick up the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band vinyl for a bargain $25+.
5. Elvis Presley, “My Happiness” $300,000
This record was purchased for $300,000 by Jack White of the White Stripes, who is known to be a huge vintage vinyl collector. The record sold was the test pressing of Presley’s first-ever recording of this song. It was sold at an auction in December 2015.
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4. The Quarrymen “That’ll Be the Day”/”In Spite of All the Danger”, $254,020
With only one copy made, this is quite a piece to get your hands on, and one of the most valuable vinyl records every. The one existing copy is owned by Paul McCartney, and Record Collector magazine has listed the guide price at around £200,000, which is around $254,000.
3.The Beatles “White Album”, $790,000
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr had the very first copy of their self-titled double album from 1968. The copy of the record even bore the number 0000001. This record copy was sold for $790,000 in December 2015 at an auction to an unnamed buyer.
2. Bob Dylan “Blowin in the Wind”, $1.8 Million
"This is actually scarce": A 2021 Bob Dylan "Blowin’ in the Wind" recording sells for $1.8 million at auction https://t.co/v0He2OCOW0
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 7, 2022
According to several source, one being Rolling Stone, a one-off recording of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” sold for $1.8 million at an auction in 2022, making it the second most valuable vinyl record ever. The song was written by Dylan in 1962 and released in his The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album in 1963.
1. Wu-Tang Clan “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”, $4 Million
In 2015, the one and only copy ever to be produced of this album was sold for $2 million, with a contract that the buyer cannot try to sell or make money from this record for a period of 100 years.
While the contract stipulated that the record cannot be commercially exploited until 2103, it did allow for the buyer to release the album for free if they want to.
However, the buyer was jailed in 2018 and the government took all their belongings, including the album. In 2021, another buyer picked up the album for $4,000,000 worth of crypto. Watch the video above to see the whole story.
Conclusion
Introduced in 1931, vinyl records remain one of the top analog collectibles in our digital society:
No matter the growth of music apps like Apple Music, Spotify, and Soundcloud in recent years, the original vinyl records fill store shelves, and many collectors around the world are ready to shell out massive amounts to get their hands on the records they want.
