Collecting vinyl records can be more than just a hobby; it can also be a lucrative investment. Some records have become incredibly valuable due to their rarity, historical significance, and condition.
Here’s a list of some of the most valuable vinyl records that collectors seek out, in no particular order, following this advertisement:
Collecting vinyl records can be a rewarding hobby both for the love of music and as a potential investment. While the records listed below are some of the most valuable, there are many others that can be of significant worth. eBay is a great place to buy music collectibles, just do your research.
1. The Beatles – “Yesterday and Today” (Butcher Cover)
Value: Up to $125,000
This controversial “Yesterday and Today” album cover featuring the Beatles in butcher smocks with dismembered dolls and raw meat was quickly recalled, making the original pressing extremely rare.
Known as the “butcher cover,” it was photographed by Australian photographer, Robert Whitaker.
Although the photo was part of a series critiquing the adulation afforded the Beatles, the band members claimed it was a statement against the Vietnam War.
“I had this dream one night about the Beatles being ripped to bits by all these young girls when they came out of a stadium,” explained Bob Whitaker.
Capitol Records themselves chose the photograph and sent out pre-release copies to reviewers and radio stations. In response to irate complaints about the graphic imagery, Capitol quickly withdrew the LP, rounded up 50,000 albums and buried them in Needham Town Dump in Boston.
Capitol then replaced the cover with a more conventional shot of the band posed around a steamer trunk, referred to as the “Trunk” cover. In April 2013, an original Butcher cover sold for $11,632.
John Lennon’s copy of Beatles ‘butcher’ album, signed by Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, sold for £180,000 (USD$234,000) in 2019.
There is even The Beatles Butcher Cover Owners Exchange Facebook group for traders of this rare record.
2. Elvis Presley – “My Happiness”
Value: $300,000
This is the first-ever recording by Elvis Presley, a 1953 acetate record. He paid $3.98 to record the first of two double-sided demo acetates, “My Happiness,” composed by Borney Bergantine, and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin”.
These were the first two songs Elvis Presley recorded on July 18, 1953, during his initial recording session at the Memphis Recording Service (now called Sun Studios).
In January 2015, Presley’s copy of “My Happiness” was auctioned off and purchased by musician Jack White in 2015 for $300,000 at a Graceland auction, making it one of the most expensive records ever sold.
That one-off acetate has since been valued at $500,000 by Record Collector magazine. Returning to Sun Studios on January 4, 1954, he recorded a second acetate, “I’ll Never Stand in Your Way” / “It Wouldn’t Be the Same Without You”.
3. The Beatles – The White Album (First Pressing)
Value: $790,000
The first pressing of this iconic album, especially those with low serial numbers, is highly sought after. Ringo Starr’s personal copy, serial number 0000001, sold for a record-breaking USD$790,000 in 2015.
Pop artist Richard Hamilton designed the record sleeve in collaboration with Paul McCartney. Hamilton claimed to have been paid £200 for the work.
Each copy of the record featured a unique stamped serial number, “to create the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies,” according to Hamilton.
The first four numbered copies were given to the band members, making number 0000005 the first copy sold publicly. In 2008, it was purchased for £19,201 on eBay.
In 2015, Ringo Starr’s copy, number 0000001, sold for a world record USD$790,000 (approx. £620,000) at Julien’s auction in the U.S.A. Ringo said he kept this album in a bank vault in London for over 35 years.
4. Wu-Tang Clan – “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”
Value: $4 million
“Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” was recorded in secret between 2006 and 2013 and is housed in an ornate silver box.
It features contributions from all surviving members of the Wu-Tang Clan and two songs featuring Cher. A single two-CD copy with 31 tracks was pressed in 2015, and the digital master files were deleted.
Its unique status makes it one of the most valuable records in history.
Only one copy of this album was made, and it was sold to the controversial figure Martin Shkreli. In March 2018, following Shkreli’s conviction for fraud and he tried to sell it on eBay.
A federal court seized his assets worth $7.36 million, including “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” and eventually sold it to non-fungible token collectors PleasrDAO for $4 million.
Wu-Tang Clan stipulated that the album’s buyer couldn’t sell it until 88 years after the purchase and that the album was only for the buyer’s personal use or at “listening parties,” part of a plan to elevate the value of music to the level of contemporary fine art.
Pleasr said, “With this single work of art, the Wu-Tang Clan’s intention was to redefine the meaning of music ownership and value in a world of digital streaming and commodification of music.”
The Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania, have included the album for its exhibition “Namedropping,” which explores status, celebrity, and notoriety. MONA is holding “listening parties” of a shortened mix of the album and Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will be on display from 15 to 24 June, 2024.
5. The Sex Pistols – “God Save the Queen” (A&M Records)
Value: $16,000 (£13,000)
The 45 rpm single “God Save the Queen” was recorded by The Sex Pistols in March 1977 and only a few ‘advance copies’ of this single were pressed before A&M Records sacked the band because of their anti-establishment behaviour, making it a rare and valuable find.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Records re-released the single soon after to coincide with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
“God Save the Queen” officially reached number two in the UK charts, despite being banned by the BBC and panned by the conservative media.
Only nine copies of the single were kept “in a vault” at A&M Records and given to a few employees when A&M closed their London office in 1998.
The record sold at auction was accompanied by a ‘golden handshake’ letter from the record company, proving the provenance.
An anonymous buyer paid £15,652 through Wessex Auction Rooms including the buyer’s premium.
6. The Velvet Underground & Nico – Acetate
Value: $25,200
This early demo version of their debut album was discovered at a yard sale and is considered one of the holy grails for vinyl collectors.
The “Scepter Studios” demo recordings on acetate disc featuring early versions of songs that were later released on “The Velvet Underground & Nico” album with cover art by Andy Warhol.
Only one complete track from the final LP album, “There She Goes Again” is from the Scepter session.
The four day recording session was financed by Warhol and Columbia Records’ sales executive Norman Dolph, who engineered the record with John Licata.
Andy Warhol, who was managing the Velvet Underground at the time, exchanged an original painting for Dolph’s ‘ghost producing’ the project.
The Velvet Underground & Nico recorded ten songs in mid-April at “Scepter Studios” in New York City and an acetate demo of nine songs was cut on April 25, 1966. After being declined by Columbia, Atlantic Records and Elektra Records, the band signed with Verve Records and recording began on the album.
Andy Warhol designed the album cover for the LP The Velvet Underground & Nico featuring a print of a banana. Early copies of the album invited the owner to “Peel slowly and see”, revealing a flesh-colored banana underneath. Most reissued vinyl editions of the album do not feature the peel-off sticker, so original copies of the album are also rare collector’s items.
The acetate disc was bought by a Canadian collector in 2002 at a flea market in New York City for $0.75 cents, who then flipped it on eBay for over $25,200 (€18.322). This is one of two copies known to exist, the other one belongs to the band’s drummer, Moe Tucker. A limited edition pressing of 5,000 was released on Record Store Day in 2012, likely made from Moe Tucker’s copy of the acetate.
7. The Beatles – “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (Signed by All Four Beatles)
Value: $290,500
Released in 1967, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is considered one of the most influential albums in music history, celebrated for its innovative production, eclectic influences, and the cultural impact it had during the 1960s.
Any Beatles record signed by all four members is extremely valuable. As The Beatles were at the height of their fame and overwhelmed by the sheer number of fans, getting all four members to sign a single item was an exceedingly rare feat.
In March 2013, a UK Parlophone copy of the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” signed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr was sold at Heritage Auctions for $290,500.
The previous record for a signed Beatles album cover was the $150,000 paid for a copy of Meet the Beatles.
In July 2023, “a composite of 3 different covers that were signed separately and then professionally cut and seamlessly fused together to make one cover” sold for $35,099.28.
In 2004, another genuine autographed Sgt Pepper’s album passed in at auction, not sold when the $40,000 reserve price was not met. This autographed album was collected by Beatle fan Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bravo.
Another signed album “not a preprint or reproduction” is for sale at RareAndSigned for USD$381,837.00 or £300,000.00
8. John Lennon & Yoko Ono – “Double Fantasy” (Signed by John Lennon)
Value: $150,000
Signed by Lennon just hours before his assassination, this record holds significant historical and cultural value.
In December 2020, the “Double Fantasy” album that John Lennon signed for his assassin, who we choose not to name, five hours before the assassination, was sold for USD$900,000.00
On the night of December 8th, 1980, John Lennon was assassinated outside The Dakota, an apartment building in Manhattan where Lennon lived with his wife Yoko Ono and young son Sean.
After John lennon signed this album, the murderer put it in one of the planters at the entrance of Dakota where it was found that night by the original seller of the album who kept it under his bed for 18 years before selling it in 1998.
Lennon’s autograph is in blue pen on the neck of the image of Yoko Ono on the front. Lennon also wrote “1980” below his signature.
The numbers above Lennon’s signature in black marker are police evidence markings. On the back of the album on the upper right corner to the left of the song listings, handwritten in blue pen are other police markings that reads “Det M. Struk #7247 20 DET Sqd 1330 Hrs 12/9/80”.
One cannot imagine a more historic, iconic and phenomenally important artifact from the 20th century.
9. Bob Dylan – “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” (Withdrawn Version)
Value: Up to $35,000
Early pressings of this album feature different tracks than the final release. Finding a copy with these tracks is extremely rare.
An original pressing of Bob Dylan’s legendary second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, that lists the approved songs on the label and cover but plays the four rare, deleted tracks: “Talking John Birch Blues,” “Gamblin’ Willie’s Dead Man’s Hand,” “Rocks and Gravel” and “Let Me Die in My Footsteps”.
The first pressing of the Freewheelin’ contained the controversial song “Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues,” which CBS -TV decided to stop Bob Dylan from performing on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Bob Dylan has always ducked questions as to why the tracks were removed from Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
The ultimate Holy Grail that no-one has ever found is an original Freewheelin’ with the four deleted tracks listed on the jacket front and back, and on the record label, and actually on the record. It seems that they were all destroyed.
A copy of the album sold on 16 November, 2019 at Heritage Auctions for $9,375.00
10. The Rolling Stones – “Street Fighting Man” (US Picture Sleeve)
Value: $17,000
The picture sleeve for this single was withdrawn due to controversial artwork, making it a rare collector’s item. The US version of this sleeve is extremely rare, the rarest of all Stones’ picture sleeves.
The single “Street Fighting Man” was first released in August 1968, just before the Chicago Democratic National Convention, where riots erupted between demonstrators and the Chicago police.
The Stones’ picture sleeve shows two images depicting police brutality from one of the numerous riots that had occurred in over a hundred U.S. cities that year. The record company quickly judged the sleeve inappropriate and withdrew it.
A Rolling Stones “Street Fighting Man” picture sleeve was sold at auction by Bonham’s for USD$17,080 in June 2011.
The exact number of surviving copies is unknown, but estimates range between ten and eighteen, making it one of the rarest pieces of Rolling Stones memorabilia.
Other rare and collectible records
Other rare and collectible records include The Beatles’ “Please Please Me” on the Black and Gold label, which has an estimated value of £3,500, and the Rolling Stones’ self-titled debut record from 1964, valued at £1,000.
Jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley’s self-titled album from 1957 and rocker Wil Malone’s self-titled release from 1970 are also rare and highly sought after. In 2009, a rare copy of the unreleased 1965 single “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” by Frank Wilson sold for £25,742.
Factors That Determine Value of Collectable Records
Rarity: Records that had limited pressings or were quickly withdrawn from the market are often the most valuable.
Condition: Mint condition records, especially those that have never been played, can fetch higher prices.
Historical Significance: Records associated with significant moments in music history or personal stories of famous artists tend to be more valuable.
Autographs: Records signed by the artists, particularly when all members of a band have signed, can dramatically increase the value.
Serial Numbers: For albums with numbered editions, lower serial numbers are typically more valuable.
Provenance: Recordings that were personal items of famous band members or have a personal connection with the historical or cultural significance of the item may increase the value.
Certificate of Authenticity: With so many copies and fakes on the market, it is highly advisable to assume an item is fake until proven otherwise by an expert.
Always research and authenticate records before purchasing, and take good care of your collection to preserve its value. Happy collecting!
Recommended reading
Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 2nd Edition by Tim Neely
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