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For most expensive albums made, see List of most expensive albums.

The following is an attempt to list some of the most valuable records. Data is sourced from Record Collector, eBay, Popsike, the Jerry Osborne Record Price Guides, and other sources.

Sales

Artist Song/Album Name Cost (either sold, purchased or estimated) Information
Wu-Tang Clan Once Upon a Time in Shaolin $4,000,000 Wu-Tang Clan‘s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin CD (of which only one copy was produced) was sold through Paddle8 on November 24, 2015, for $2,000,000, according to Record Collector 449.[1] On December 9, 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek identified the buyer as hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli.[2] On September 10, 2021 the Wu-Tang Clan broke their own record when the United States Department of Justice, which had seized the album from Martin Shkreli as part of a forfeiture, sold the album for $4,000,000 to crypto collective PleasrDAO, according to The New York Times.[3]
Bob Dylan Blowin’ in the Wind $1,800,000 A one-off recording of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” sold for $1.8 million at auction in 2022, according to multiple sources, including Rolling Stone.[4]
The Beatles The Beatles (the “White Album”) $790,000 The Beatles (the “White Album”) (Parlophone UK album, 1968) – Ringo Starr‘s personal copy (No. 0000001) was sold for $790,000 in December 2015, according to Rolling Stone. This is the highest price ever paid for an album that has been commercially released.
Elvis Presley My Happiness $300,000 Elvis Presley‘s “My Happiness” acetate was purchased by Jack White for $300,000 in January 2015.[5] It was then re-released on Record Store Day 2015 by Third Man Records.
The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band $290,500 A fully signed copy of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP sold for $290,500 (£190,000) in 2013.[6]
John Lennon and Yoko Ono Double Fantasy $150,000 A copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s Double Fantasy (Geffen US album, 1980), autographed by Lennon five hours before his murder. This sold in 1999 for $150,000.[7][8]
Frank Wilson “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” $133,818.00 One of two known copies of this Northern soul classic (SOUL*35019, US 7-inch 45 rpm in plain sleeve, 1966), fetched over £100,000 in 2020, according to the Harborough Mail. Northern soul is a highly collectible area, based around obscure American soul singles.
The Beatles Yesterday and Today $125,000 Yesterday and Today (Capitol, US album in ‘butcher’ sleeve, 1966). A sealed mint “first state” stereo copy sold for US$125,000 in February 2016,[9] unsealed mint copies of this pressing have regularly sold for well over $15,000. Other pressings and states are also available, in both mono and stereo with prices ranging from $150 to $10,000.[10]
The Quarrymen Untitled $105,047.13 A tape of The Quarrymen performing live sold for £78,500[11]
The Silver Beatles Untitled $46,826.67 The Silver Beatles’ Decca audition tape fetched £35,000 at auction[12]
John Lennon Untitled $30,000 A recording of John Lennon singing at a party in 1973 sold for $30,000 at Bonhams in 2008[13]
The Beatles Till There Was You $103,685.70 10-inch acetate sold in March 2016 for £77,500, according to Record Collector 453.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Untitled $67,230.98 The earliest known tape of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards rehearsing fetched £50,250 at auction.[11]
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Untitled $64,287.54 1968 Woburn Music Festival performance sold for £48,050 at Christie’s.[14]
David Bowie (with The Konrads) Untitled $52,660.14 Omega sold David Bowie’s first demo tape (with The Konrads) for £39,360 in 2018 (Record Collector 485).
Michael Jackson What More Can I Give $50,000 A Michael Jackson “What More Can I Give” studio reference CD sold on eBay for $50,000 in 2015[15]
Long Cleve Reed & Little Harvey Hull Original Stack O’Lee Blues $50,000 “Original Stack O’Lee Blues” (Black Patti, US 78 rpm in plain sleeve, 1927). $50,000 offered to Joe Bussard, according to Amanda Petrusich’s Do Not Sell At Any Price.
Scaramanga Silk Choose Your Weapon $41,095 Sold for $41,095 on Discogs.[16]
Aphex Twin Caustic Window $46,300 A test pressing of Aphex Twin‘s Caustic Window album sold for $46,300 on eBay in 2014, with the buyer being Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft.[17]
Dark Dark Round the Edges $36,123.57 A highly limited colour gatefold copy of Dark’s Round The Edges prog LP sold for £27,000, according to Pete Bonner from Psychotron, in Record Collector 517.
Tommy Johnson Alcohol and Jake Blues $37,100 A copy of Tommy Johnson‘s “Alcohol and Jake Blues” 78 rpm sold for $37,100 on eBay in 2013[18]
The Beatles Please Please Me (Parlophone stereo version with the black and gold label) $29,864.83 A copy of The Beatles’ Please Please Me LP (the Parlophone stereo version with the black and gold label, which regularly sells for over £1,000) sold in 2009 for £22,322.[19]
Bob Dylan The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan $35,000 The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (CBS, US album, stereo 1963, featuring four tracks deleted from subsequent releases), a copy belonging to Dylan’s one-time girlfriend Suze Rotolo with hand-written notes on the track-listing, was auctioned by Christie’s in New York for a reported $35,000.[20][10]
Jean-Michel Jarre Music for Supermarkets $45,048.17 Music for Supermarkets (Disques Dreyfus, France, FDM 18113), Only one copy of this LP exists. It was auctioned for 36,000FR (approx. $14,000 at the time, or about $33,563 in 2016) in Paris in 1983.
Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers My Bonnie $30,000 A copy of Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers’ (The Beatles) ‘My Bonnie’ 7″ (Decca stock copy, 1962) was sold for $30,000 by Heritage Auctions, according to Record Collector 539.
The Beatles Can’t Buy Me Love $27,500 A copy of the Beatles’ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love‘ 7″ (Capitol, black & yellow vinyl) was sold for $27,500 by Heritage Auctions, according to Record Collector 539.
Prince The Black Album (Prince album) $27,500 A copy of Prince‘s untitled “black album” sold on Discogs for $27,500 in June 2018.

Estimates or valuations

Artist Song/Album Name Estimate or valuation Information
Pink Floyd King Bee”/”Lucy Leave Pink Floyd‘s “King Bee”/”Lucy Leave” acetate valued at £25,000[21]
Joseph Beuys Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee A copy of Joseph Beuys‘ 100-only ‘multiple’ reel-to-reel edition of Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee album from 1969 was valued at over £30,000.[22]
David A. Stewart Untitled The Daily Mirror and other sources reported a Rare Record Price Guide story in April 2015 that a David A. Stewart ‘Test’ 78 from 1965 was worth £30,000.
The Quarrymen “That’ll Be the Day“/”In Spite of All the Danger” $267,640.00 The Quarrymen – “That’ll Be the Day“/”In Spite of All the Danger” (UK 78–rpm, acetate in plain sleeve, 1958). Only one copy made. The one existing copy is currently owned by Paul McCartney. Record Collector magazine listed the guide price at £200,000 in issue 408 (December 2012). McCartney had some “reissues” pressed in 1981 on UK 10-inch 78 RPM and 7-inch 45 RPM, in reproduction Parlophone sleeves, 25 copies of each; these are estimated to be worth upwards of £10,000 each.[23][24]
The Beatles Love Me Do $50,000–$100,000 “Love Me Do” (EMI) one-sided acetate, the only unedited version with count-in – estimated at $50,000–$100,000.[25]

Other

Artist Song/Album Name Estimate or valuation Information
The Beatles Please Please Me An acetate version of The Beatles’ Please Please Me album from the US on Vee-Jay (1963) had a £30,000+ offer refused on it.[26]
El Peyote Asesino Terraja Unknown Terraja (Universal Music Group, Uruguay, UMD 40141), the band’s second album, which after dissolving In 1999 (a year after the album’s release) all copies of it were discontinued from Uruguayan record stores, and it is considered a “difficult to find” item.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Greenburg, Zack O’Malley. “Wu-Tang Clan Secret Album Sold By Paddle8, But To Whom?”. Forbes. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  2. ^ Leonard, David; Hordern, Annmarie (December 9, 2015). “Who Bought The Most Expensive Album Ever Made?”. Bloomberg Businessweek.
  3. ^ Sisario, Ben (20 October 2021). “Meet the New Owners of the Wu-Tang Clan’s One-of-a-Kind Album”. The New York Times.
  4. ^ https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/1545191193642156033. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ Record Collector, 437
  6. ^ Heritage Auctions, Record Collector, 414.
  7. ^ Summerlin, Barry (2008-02-05). “The World of Rare Records: Lennon and McCartney’s First Recording”. Luxist.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  8. ^ “Kvart & Bølge, Audiophile Quarter Wave Full Range Loudspeakers”. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  9. ^ “Brit buys 50-year-old lock of John Lennon’s hair for £24,000”. NME. 2016-02-20.
  10. ^ a b Johnny Sharp (March 2007). “Johnny Sharp: Scrap that recording – it’ll become an instant classic | Music”. The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  11. ^ a b Dogget & Hodgson, Christie’s Rock And Pop Memorabilia, 2003
  12. ^ The Daily Telegraph, 4 December 2012
  13. ^ Record Collector, 360, March 2009
  14. ^ Record Collector, 353 (September 2008)
  15. ^ Record Collector 442
  16. ^ “100 Most Expensive Records Ever Sold on Discogs”. Discogs Blog. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  17. ^ Fact (2014-06-24). “Aphex Twin’s Caustic Window test pressing bought by Minecraft creator Notch”. Fact Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  18. ^ “Why I Paid $37,100 for One Record – Fuse Q&A”. Fuse.tv. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  19. ^ Record Collector, 368, November 2009
  20. ^ “Christie’s New York rock and pop sale features McCartney, Hendrix, Dylan and Marley” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-13.
  21. ^ Record Collector, 417
  22. ^ Record Collector, 430 (2014)
  23. ^ “Kvart & Bølge, Audiophile Quarter Wave Full Range Loudspeakers”. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  24. ^ Record Collector, 382
  25. ^ Record Collector, 404 (August 2012)
  26. ^ Record Collector, 342, November 2007
  27. ^ Fourment, Belén. “Un buen lugar para hacer cosas”. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2023.