In September 2016 a box set was released covering Bowie's mid-70s soul period, including The Gouster, a previously unreleased 1974 album. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. Apart from "Lazarus", the EP includes three songs that Bowie recorded during the Blackstar sessions, but were left off the album and appeared on the soundtrack album for the Lazarus musical in October 2016.
2017 and 2018 also saw the release of a series of posthumous live albums, covering the Diamond Dogs tour of 1974, the Isolar tour of 1976 and the Isolar II tour of 1978. In the two years following his death, Bowie sold 5 million records in the UK alone. In their top 10 list for the Global Recording Artist of the Year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry named Bowie the second-bestselling artist worldwide in 2016, behind Drake. Dylan's second album changed a bit just before it was supposed to be released in 1963, and those track changes can mean a difference of tens of thousands of dollars if your copy falls on the right side of the fence. According to Record Mecca, four songs were replaced with newly recorded tracks, but somehow, someone at the pressing plant used the old version instead of the new masters to press an unknown number of albums.
Since the album's release, only a couple stereo copies of the mistake pressings have surfaced, and less than two dozen of the mono copies are known to exist. Thought to be one of the most valuable records in the world, a mint copy of the former once sold for $35,000. Blackstar was released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday, and was met with critical acclaim. Following his death on 10 January, Visconti revealed that Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. Visconti later said that Bowie had been planning a post-Blackstar album, and had written and recorded demo versions of five songs in his final weeks, suggesting that Bowie believed he had a few months left.
The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day. On 15 January, Blackstar debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. Blackstar also debuted at number one on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the US Billboard 200. Please Please Me was released in a hurry on March 22, 1963 in Great Britain. There were multiple pressings of the album in the first year, but collectors pay attention to the labels to tell which is the rarest of them all. The very first pressing features gold lettering on a black label and is considered the "holy grail" for Beatles fans.
The mono version in mint condition is worth a few hundred bucks, while the stereo version is said to be four times as valuable (in the $4200 range). If you or your parents were riding the wave with Paul and the boys from the beginning, hopefully someone had the foresight not to open the copy. As the UK is on lockdown and we are all spending a lot more time in our homes, now is the ideal time to search through your vinyl collection for some hidden gems. Original mint condition LPs sell for incredible sums these days. From psychedelic progressive rock rarities to limited edition pop gems, click or scroll through 55 of the most valuable UK records and check your collection.
Most of the entries on our list so far have been limited to the genres of pop and rock and roll music, but even classical music has its super rare records that can be worth thousands of dollars. There's a certain copy of Waltzes by Johann Strauss, Jr. on which pop art legend Andy Warhol draw the cover. Warhol was an unknown at the time, doing a bit of work for his own exposure. There are less than 10 copies of this record in the world, and they're worth close to $6,000. Nevermind is undoubtedly Nirvana's biggest album and features some of their most famous songs, like Smells Like Teen Spirit, but Bleach was equally brilliant and remains beloved by many grunge fans. Two different copies of this vinyl record could be worth big bucks if you've kept them in good condition.
The original pressing can go for over $2,500, while the limited edition third pressing, with a red, white, and blue vinyl disc, can go for over $1,000. Many records with covers autographed by the artists are worth quite a good sum, and average everyday people owned these, so you will run across them at thrift stores or estate sales from time to time. Others with cover art that changed very quickly after the original album was released can be quite pricey. Then there are the true rarities that were never released commercially that vinyl collectors relish adding to a collection. Bowie albums and singles are treasured by many collectors, and many of them can still be bought today pretty cheaply, but there are a few specific records that come with some very high price tags, like this one.
The picture-sleeve version of this classic single is super rare. Bowie allegedly recorded the song while proposing to his wife, and it can sell for at least $2,000 at auction. The debut album of one of the most iconic rock 'n' roll bands of all time, Led Zeppelin, offered up a mix of original music and cover songs.
The album actually got mixed reviews from critics but went on to become a smash hit. The original UK release has the band name in blue letters, and copies can go for over $1,000 in good condition. When talking about the best vinyl records, one must be careful to distinguish the "vinyl" aspect from simply the best albums list. When Bleachwas initially released in 1989, the first printing was limited to 1000 copies, which were sold to music fans at Lamefest in Seattle. Those copies are now worth a couple hundred dollars, but they are not the most valuable. The label Sub Pop experimented with different marbling techniques for the subsequent pressings, and one in particular could now worth around $1500.
More of a bundle than a singular record, the red and white marbled LP was shrink-wrapped with a blue 7-inch, and there were only 500 numbered sets made. As the story goes, English punk rock band the Sex Pistols were signed in early March 1977 by A&M Records, and then famously dropped from the label only six days later because of their behavior. No one knows how many copies are still unaccounted for, but someone surely has to be lucky number 10. New records are typically more expensive than other formats, but fans would argue that the listening experience and ability to hold the music in your hands is worth the premium. There is also a culture of collecting that comes with switching to vinyl that could pay off big time, if you know what you have or what to look for.
First pressings by big acts like The Beatles or Bruce Springsteen, and finds like misprints and pressings with alternate covers, can greatly increase the value of vinyl if the copies are kept in pristine condition. Before you dig through those crates to listen to your favorite throwback LP or 45-RPM single, make sure that what you're holding isn't worth a full semester of college. Here are some records that you may have that are worth way more than their original sticker price. This psychedelic progressive rock album has been voted the number one most collectable rock record of all time by Q Magazine. The extremely rare LP was released in very limited numbers by Decca back in 1971. Slowly getting up there in price, it's another punk band that brings us a limited edition album with - get this - a print mistake!
Those are the best kinds of mistakes when it comes to rare vinyl records. Starting off easy, we first recall the release of the original Bleach album by Nirvana in 1989. The album itself wasn't what made some copies so rare, it was the fact that a limited edition version of the artwork was sold to music fans at Lamefest the same year. With one of the most iconic album covers of all time - which tourists and fans love to recreate for the gram - this vinyl record can make you $4,000 richer - if you have the rare version. Abbey Road was the 11th studio album released by the quartet hailing from Liverpool.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters , and "Under Pressure", a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He reached his commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance; its title track topped both the UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his home in New York City, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar .
Many people, even hardcore music fans, haven't heard of Stonewall. The band never actually got signed to any label but did still get a record produced, without the band even knowing about it, through a shady scam with the mob. The scam involved lots of records being pressed and then written off as unsold to free the parent company of heavy taxes. Still, a few of the records ended up in the hands of collectors, and some have sold for over $14,000. Here's another album made more valuable by a controversial cover that was self-censored by the record label.
The rarest of the rare copies of The Beatles' debut full-length album have sold for around $4,200. These are the very first pressings, which feature the band's name in gold lettering on a black label. Both mono and stereo versions are rare and valuable, but the stereo version fetches the highest price. The Joshua Tree was released right around the time CDs started to become popular.
Though previous records had done well, it was this album which propelled the band to mega stardom, along with lead singer Bono's passionate performance at Live Aid in 1985. Original, mint condition quality copies of this album will get you about £80. Another moody and rare progressive private pressing sought after by collectors around the world. Only 99 copies were pressed of this self-financed debut LP, recorded to get more live work and maybe a record deal.
Most original copies are damaged as they made the sleeve too small, so when they stuffed the record inside it split the edges. I am putting a few things from my immense and unique David Bowie collection up for sale. I have some important debts I have to pay off very soon, so unfortunately I'll have to let go of a little bit of the most valuable thing I own, my David Bowie collection. I am selling some of among the most rare and valuable items I have and am taking the best offers I receive for them.
Bowie's songs and stagecraft brought a new dimension to popular music in the early 1970s, strongly influencing both its immediate forms and its subsequent development. Bowie was a pioneer of glam rock, according to music historians Schinder and Schwartz, who credited Bowie and Marc Bolan with creating the genre. At the same time, he inspired the innovators of the punk rock music movement. Bowie was chosen to curate the 2007 High Line Festival, selecting musicians and artists for the Manhattan event, including electronic pop duo AIR, surrealist photographer Claude Cahun, and English comedian Ricky Gervais. Bowie performed on Scarlett Johansson's 2008 album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head. In June 2008 a live album was released of a Ziggy Stardust-era concert from 1972.
A Reality Tour, a double album of live material from the 2003 concert tour, was released in January 2010. Bowie was given a role in the 1986 film Absolute Beginners. It was poorly received by critics, but Bowie's theme song, also named "Absolute Beginners", rose to number two in the UK charts. He also appeared as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth, for which he worked with composer Trevor Jones and wrote five original songs. His final solo album of the decade was 1987's Never Let Me Down, where he ditched the light sound of his previous two albums, instead offering harder rock with an industrial/techno dance edge.
Peaking at number six in the UK, the album yielded the hits "Day-In, Day-Out", "Time Will Crawl", and "Never Let Me Down". Bowie later described it as his "nadir", calling it "an awful album". Supporting Never Let Me Down, and preceded by nine promotional press shows, the 86-concert Glass Spider Tour commenced on 30 May. Bowie's backing band included Peter Frampton on lead guitar. Bowie reached his peak of popularity and commercial success in 1983 with Let's Dance. Co-produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers, the album went platinum in both the UK and the US.
Its three singles became Top 20 hits in both countries, where its title track reached number one. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a guest guitarist playing solo on "Let's Dance", although the video depicts Bowie miming this part. By 1983, Bowie had emerged as one of the most important video artists of the day. Let's Dance was followed by the Serious Moonlight Tour, during which Bowie was accompanied by guitarist Earl Slick and backing vocalists Frank and George Simms. The world tour lasted six months and was extremely popular. At the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards Bowie received two awards including the inaugural Video Vanguard Award.
The album Low , partly influenced by the Krautrock sound of Kraftwerk and Neu! Although he completed the album in November 1976, it took his unsettled record company another three months to release it. Despite these forebodings, Low yielded the UK number three single "Sound and Vision", and its own performance surpassed that of Station to Station in the UK chart, where it reached number two. Glass has praised Bowie's gift for creating "fairly complex pieces of music, masquerading as simple pieces".
Also in 1977, London released Starting Point, a ten-song LP containing releases from Bowie's Deram period (1966–67). The singer's debut single, "Liza Jane", credited to Davie Jones with the King Bees, was not commercially successful. Their cover of Bobby Bland's "I Pity the Fool" was no more successful than "Liza Jane", and Bowie soon moved on again to join the Lower Third, a blues trio strongly influenced by the Who.
"You've Got a Habit of Leaving" fared no better, signalling the end of Conn's contract. Declaring that he would exit the pop music world "to study mime at Sadler's Wells", Bowie nevertheless remained with the Lower Third. His new manager, Ralph Horton, later instrumental in his transition to solo artist, soon witnessed Bowie's move to yet another group, the Buzz, yielding the singer's fifth unsuccessful single release, "Do Anything You Say".
While with the Buzz, Bowie also joined the Riot Squad; their recordings, which included one of Bowie's original songs and material by The Velvet Underground, went unreleased. Kenneth Pitt, introduced by Horton, took over as Bowie's manager. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and released eleven number-one albums.
In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone placed him among its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and named him the "Greatest Rock Star Ever" after his death in 2016.
A legendary artist in every possible way, Bob Dylan shaped the musical world beyond compare. A few copies of this 1963 release from Dylan are worth a whole lot of money. Some songs were accidentally left on a few of the copies, which were shipped with serial numbers ending with '1A'.
They contain four extra songs, including 'Let Me Die In My Footsteps' and 'Rocks and Gravel,' and each one of these records is valued at over $35,000. There are only two copies of this record, so it's highly unlikely you have one of them, but if you do, it's worth tens of thousands of dollars. Frank Wilson wanted a career as a solo artist but was convinced by others to write music for other bands and artists like the Supremes. He wrote some great songs, but most of the original copies of his own record were destroyed.
Two copies survived, and one was sold for nearly $34,000 back in 2009. We're heading back to the swinging 60s for the debut release from The Velvet Underground. First pressings of this record can sell for a few thousand dollars, and 30,000 copies of it were sold in total. There are some exceptionally rare versions, however, which feature exclusive early versions of many of the songs. Only two copies are believed to exist and are both worth an excess of $25,000. An extremely rare record that was famously featured on an episode of Pawn Stars, in which Rick refused to pay $25,000 for an average condition copy.
Still, good quality copies can sell for very impressive prices. There are said to be only three known copies of the famous disc, and they can fetch up to and over $20,000 at auction. Funnily enough, the original record sold so badly that band members had to pay for their own copies.
