Offered for sale is a orange vinyl pressing of John Birch Society Blues by Bob Dylan, issued on the Trademark of Quality label.
About this copy: This copy of John Birch Society Blues is an early Trademark of Quality pressing, with white labels with the numbers “1” and “2” on the labels, rather than the pig logo used on later releases.
The cover is unusual in that it has neither a stamped title nor a Trademark of Quality sticker. It’s the same colored, textured cover that TMOQ used for their early releases, but it’s plain, with not title at all.
The cover is VG, with some general wear, but no holes, tears, or splits. The original insert is included; it’s VG+, with a couple of minor folds.
The orange vinyl disc is M- and appears to be virtually unplayed.
A beautiful copy of a scarce Bob Dylan LP.
Background: John Birch Society Blues was the second title released by the collectible Trademark of Quality label in the early 1970s. The LP sold well and was reissued by the label multiple times.
Tracks consist of a rare single, studio outtakes from 1963, live material from a 1964 appearance at Carnegie Hall, and tracks from a 1961 “Minnesota Tape” demo.
Tracks are:
Mixed Up Confusion
East Laredo
I’ll Keep It With Mine
John Birch Society Blues
Who Killed Davy Moore?
Eternal Circle
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie
I Was Young When I Left Home
Percy’s Song
Corrina Corrina
In The Evening
Long John
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Offered for sale is a rare red vinyl pressing of the 1964 Jamaican LP Dance the Ska by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.
Colored vinyl pressings are quite rare; almost all copies were pressed on black vinyl.
About this copy: This copy of Dance the Ska is an original 1964 mono pressing on the Jamaican BMN label.
The cover is VG, with general wear and a repaired 3″ seam split on the bottom edge.
The red vinyl disc is VG+, it’s clearly been well cared for, but has a couple of stray marks that should be inaudible.
A nice copy of a rare ska LP and the back cover includes instructions for how to dance the ska!
Background: Released in 1964, Dance the Ska was likely the second LP by Byron Lee, who recorded more than 70 albums in a career that stretched from the early 1960s to 2010.
The LP led to Lee getting recording contracts from major labels in both the U.S. and Europe.
You can listen to a track from the album, “Ska Dee Wah,” here:
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Offered for sale is a rare 1966 radio show, Stars for Civil Defense, featuring one side by Lesley Gore and one side by Roy Hamilton.
Unlike most radio shows of the 1960s, this one features material that was recorded especially for this program. The material by these two artists is unavailable elsewhere and has never been formally reissued.
About this copy: This copy of Stars for Civil Defense is an original 1966 mono LP, issued for radio broadcast.
The LP was issued without a cover.
The disc is VG; it still has lots of shine and likely hasn’t been played but a few times, but it has a few light marks on each side of the vinyl.
A nice copy of a rare radio show and only the third copy we’ve ever seen.
Background: Stars for Civil Defense was a short-lived radio program produced by the U.S. government in the 1960s. The purpose was to keep the public informed about being prepared in the event of a national emergency. All programs in this series are rare.
The Stars for Civil Defense series consisted of a number of albums that featured one artist on each side, with each program running for 15 minutes. There were other, similar government-sponsored music programs in the 1960s, such as Voices of Vista, representing a poverty fighting organization, and The “In” Sound, which was intended to promote Army recruitment.
All of these programs featured several songs by the featured artist, as well as a brief interview. The songs in these programs were generally the artists’ most recent hits. What made the Stars for Civil Defense series different is that the songs were recorded especially for the Civil Defense program. The material that appears on these records is unavailable anywhere else.
This copy of Stars for Civil Defense is program 519/520, featuring Lesley Gore on one side and Roy Hamilton on the other, accompanied by Ray Bloch and his orchestra. This program was intended for broadcast during the fall of 1966.
This is Lesley Gore’s (and Roy Hamilton’s, for that matter) rarest LP containing unique material. The songs on this album were recorded especially for this program and have never been commercially released.
The record label indicates that the album was intended to be broadcast on September 25, 1966 for Roy Hamilton and October 2, 1966 for Lesley Gore.
Songs:
Roy Hamilton with Ray Bloch and his orchestra
Blowin’ in the Wind
Island in the Sun
The Impossible Dream
And I Love Her (Ray Bloch and the Orchestra only)
Lesley Gore with Ray Bloch and his orchestra
The Cockeyed Optimist
The Song is You
Fool’s Medley: What Kind of Fool/Young and Foolish/Fools Rush In/My Foolish Heart
Hawaiian Love Song (Ray Bloch and the Orchestra only)
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Offered for sale is an original U.S. pressing of the 1957 doo wop LP The Singing, Swinging Del Vikings Recording Session by the Del Vikings.
About this copy: This copy of The Singing, Swinging Del Vikings Recording Session is an original 1957 U.S. mono pressing on the original black Mercury label.
The cover is VG+, with faint wear, mostly at the edges and corners. There is a repaired 2″ seam split in the center of the bottom edge of the cover.
The disc is quite clean, and clearly has had little play. Overall, it’s VG+, with a few sleeve scuffs and two faint inaudible hairlines on side 2.
A nice copy of an album that’s quite hard to find in playable condition.
Background: The Singing, Swinging Del Vikings Recording Session was the first album the Del Vikings recorded for Mercury.
Oddly, no singles were released from the album, which likely led to poor sales.
You can listen to the opening track, “The Big Beat,” here:
Offered for sale is a rare Japanese white label promotional copy of Them Again, by Them, featuring Van Morrison.
About this copy: This copy of Them Again is a white label promo copy of the 1978 issue of an album that was originally released in 1966, complete with original obi and lyric insert.
This LP is in mono and is the 16 track version released in the UK, rather than the shorter 12 track version issued in the United States.
Cover, obi, and disc are M-. The disc looks unplayed.
A beautiful copy of a hard to find Van Morrision item.
Background: Them Again, released in 1966, was the second album by Them and the final album by the band to include Van Morrison.
The LP was issued in the UK in mono, with 16 tracks; it was issued in the United States in a 12 track version and most of the copies sold were in rechanneled stereo.
The album peaked at #138 on the U.S. album charts. It did not chart in the UK.
The group’s second and, for all intents and purposes, last full album was recorded while Them was in a state of imminent collapse. To this day, nobody knows who played on the album, other than Van Morrison and bassist Alan Henderson, though it is probable that Jimmy Page was seldom very far away when Them was recording… but the main thrust is soul, which Morrison oozes everywhere — while there’s some filler, his is a voice that could easily have knocked Mick Jagger or Eric Burdon off their respective perches.
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Offered for sale is a rare original U.S. stereo pressing of the 1959 LP Ray Charles at Newport by Ray Charles.
About this copy: This copy of Ray Charles at Newport is an original stereo issue on the green label that Atlantic only used from 1958-1960.
The cover is VG+, with a bit of wear on the lamination and some foxing on the back cover. There are no tears or holes. As with many early Atlantic stereo titles, this album has a mono cover with an embossed “STEREO DISC” stamp on the front.
The disc is M-. While it has a few spindle marks on the label, there are no marks on the vinyl.
A beautiful copy of an album that rarely turns up in this condition.
Background: Ray Charles at Newport was released just months after his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958.
Atlantic’s first stereo LPs were used on a green label that was nearly identical to the black label they were using at the time for their mono releases. This label was only in use from 1958-1960, and all pressings on that label are quite rare.
For his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 5, 1958, Charles pulled out all the stops, performing raucous versions of “The Right Time,” “I Got a Woman,” and “Talkin’ ‘Bout You.”
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Offered for sale is a late 1950s second issue of the 1957 LP The Fabulous Cadillacs by the Cadillacs.
About this copy: This copy of The Fabulous Cadillacs is a second issue, on the flat-black Jubille label, probably pressed in 1958 or so.
The cover is VG+, with slight ring wear and some wear on the bottom edge.
The disc is a very clean VG+, with a few sleeve scuffs and a few very tiny marks.
A beautiful copy of a terrific LP.
Background: The Cadillacs were one of the better-selling doo wop groups of the 1950s and early 1960s, and one of the very few to release more than one album.
The Fabulous Cadillacs, released in 1957, was actually a compilation of singles that the group had released going as far back as 1953. The album sold reasonably well for a 1950s LP, helped the well-known single “Speedoo.”
First issues of the LP were on the blue Jubilee label, followed shortly after release by a change to the flat black label.
The Cadillacs’ first album was actually like a greatest-hits compilation (leaving aside the fact that they’d had only one hit) drawing from the singles they’d released up to that point, and not material recorded specifically for LP release. That hit, “Speedoo,” is included here, naturally, as are 11 other tracks found on various A-sides and B-sides of 1954-1957 7″ releases. …The production throughout has that flashpoint of R&B, a hint of jazz, and a trace of pop that defined much early New York vocal group rock & roll.
You can listen to “Speedoo” here:
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Offered for sale is an original pressing of the 1959 LP The Crazy Cadillacs by the Cadillacs.
About this copy: This copy of The Crazy Cadillacs is an original 1959 issue, on the flat-black Jubille label.
The cover is VG+, with slight ring wear and some wear on the bottom edge.
The disc is VG+ one one side and VG on the other, with a few light marks but no deep or significant scratches.
A beautiful copy of a terrific LP.
Background: The Cadillacs were one of the better-selling doo wop groups of the 1950s and early 1960s, and one of the very few to release more than one album.
The Crazy Cadillacs, released in 1957, was the group’s second album and the first to be recorded specifically as an album.
First issues of the LP were on the flat black Jubilee label, followed shortly after release by a change to the black label with a color logo.
Without duplicating anything from their first album (1957’s The Fabulous Cadillacs, actually a collection of sides from various 1954-1957 singles), the Cadillacs’ second LP mixed seven tracks from 1954-1957 45s with five songs that made their first appearance on this long-player. It may not have anything on the order of their classic hit “Speedoo,” but it’s actually a consistent and superior doo wop album, with a few cuts that rate among the group’s best.
You can listen to “My Girl Friend” here:
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Sgt. Pepper’s was released on eight colors of vinyl in France in 1978.
People collect records for all kinds of reasons and different collectors are drawn to collecting different types of records. Sometimes, however, these diverse interests can intersect.
And some collectors, not surprisingly, are interested in collecting Beatles colored vinyl albums. It makes sense; both Beatles records and colored vinyl records are popular, and many Beatles colored vinyl albums have been released around the world over the years.
In this article, we’ll try to list all of the Beatles colored vinyl albums that are out there, though we can’t promise that this list will be complete.
While most of the variations are well known and documented, putting together a comprehensive list of all of the Beatles colored vinyl albums from Japan is difficult and perhaps impossible.
This article will only cover releases by record companies that were authorized or licensed to issue Beatles albums. Bootleg and pirate albums are too numerous to document, so we’ll leave them out, though perhaps we’ll revisit that topic another time.
Browse by Category
Click any of the links below to jump to each category:
Free U.S. shipping! An original Japanese red vinyl numbered pressing of the The Beatles, also known as the White Album by the Beatles, including the original obi.
Free U.S. shipping! A still sealed limited edition white vinyl pressing of the limited edition direct metal mastered German pressing of the The Beatles (aka the White Album) by the Beatles, including all original inserts.
For purposes of this article, we’re going to cover Beatles colored vinyl albums, which basically means we’ll be talking about records that were either official releases, or which were pressed by the Beatles’ official record companies, and which were pressed on vinyl in some color other than black.
Most records are pressed from black vinyl, which is usually a vinyl compound that is naturally somewhat clear, but to which an additive has been added to make the vinyl appear black. This is done because the natural color of the vinyl can vary widely from one batch to another. Adding a carbon mixture makes the color more uniform.
Most of the Beatles colored vinyl albums released around the world over the years have been limited editions. Some were by design, and others weren’t, but just sort of ended up that way for one reason or another.
Due to collector interest, prices for Beatles colored vinyl albums tend to be higher than for black vinyl copies of the same records from the same time period. That is, a green vinyl UK pressing of Abbey Road from 1978 would likely sell for more money than a black vinyl UK pressing of the same album from 1978.
Original Issue Beatles Colored Vinyl
The 1964 Japanese first issue of A Hard Day’s Night on red vinyl with the rare “half” obi on the cover.
As far as we know, the only country in the world that released Beatles colored vinyl albums as original releases was Japan.
Japanese records were originally issued on the Odeon label, and were later reissued on the Apple labels. Those albums were pressed by Toshiba, and Toshiba used a red-colored vinyl compound from 1958-1974 that they called “Everclean” vinyl.
This vinyl compound was created with hopes that it would have greater anti static properties than regular black vinyl and thus be less prone to collecting dust and grime. It’s just a coincidence that the vinyl also happened to be red, rather than black.
Most Beatles titles released in Japan were pressed on red vinyl as original issues, though later pressings were usually black.
In Japan, the market for non-English language music is fairly small, so titles tended to not remain in print. The record company would press as many albums as they thought they could sell, and then delete the title.
If demand warranted pressing it again, they’d reissue the album, sometimes with a different catalog number and usually with different obi on the cover. An obi, or sash, is a paper strip that was wrapped around the album cover and which contained the album title, catalog number and price in Japanese.
These paper strips were often discarded after purchase, and finding vintage Beatles albums with the original obi intact can be quite difficult.
Some Japanese Beatles LPs were issued only once on red vinyl, while others, such as A Hard Day’s Night, were released as many as five times, each with a completely different obi.
Beatles Without the Beatles – Rare 1966 Japan-only various artists LP
Here is a list of all of the Beatles albums from Japan that were originally issued on red vinyl:
Meet the Beatles – (Odeon OR-7041 mono) Originally issued in April, 1964 with a white obi with blue print that draped over the cover but did not wrap around it completely. This album was issued again in 1966 with a blue obi with a white triangle at the top, in 1967 with a green obi with an Odeon logo, and once more in 1970 with the same green obi, this time with an Apple logo and a new catalog number (AR-8026)While all copies are hard to find, especially with the obi, the first issue, with the hankake obi, or “half obi,” is exceptionally rare.
The Beatles Second Album – (Odeon OR-7058 mono) Originally issued in June, 1964 and like Meet the Beatles above, it was issued in mono only with a “half obi” and was also reissued in 1966, 1967, and 1970 (Apple AR-8027). NOTE: This LP has a different track listing from the U.S. album of the same name and was issued only in mono.
The Beatles Second Album (Apple AP-80012) This August, 1970 LP had the same title as the one above, but did have the same track lineup as the 1964 U.S. LP and was issued in stereo only. White obi with a die-cut Apple.
A Hard Day’s Night (Odeon OP-7123 stereo) The last of three titles by the Beatles to be issued in 1964 with the “half obi.” This album was also reissued in 1966, 1967, and in 1970 (Apple AP-8147). This album had a cover that was unique to Japan, with a shot taken from the film that shows the band playing.
Beatles for Sale (Odeon OP-7179 stereo) Originally issued in March, 1965 with an obi that was mostly green, early copies are also found with a brown one. This album was also reissued in 1966, 1967 and 1969 (Apple AP-8442).
Beatles No. 5 (Odeon OR-7193 mono) This LP was unique to Japan and was originally released with a blue obi with a half circle at the top. This album was reissued just one more time on red vinyl, in 1967 with a green obi.
Help! (Odeon OP-7240 stereo) The original September, 1965 issue has the blue obi with the half circle at the top. This title was reissued in 1967 on red vinyl with a green obi (Odeon) and in 1969 with a green obi (Apple) with a different catalog number (AP-8151)
Rubber Soul (Odeon OP-7450 stereo) The orginal March, 1966 pressing has the blue obi with the half circle at the top. Reissued in 1967 with a green Odeon obi and again in 1970 with a green Apple obi and a different catalog number (AP-8156).
Please, Please Me (Odeon OR-7548 stereo) The May, 1966 first release of this LP was issued with a cover that was unique to Japan to commemorate the Beatles’ visit there in 1966. This album had a distinctive red obi with an Odeon logo and was reissued again on red vinyl in 1969 with the same obi that had an Apple logo and a different catalog number (AP-8675).
With the Beatles (Odeon OR-7549) The May, 1966 first release of this LP was issued with a cover that was unique to Japan to commemorate the Beatles’ visit there in 1966. This album had a distinctive red obi with an Odeon logo and was reissued again on red vinyl in 1969 with the same obi that had an Apple logo and a different catalog number (AP-8678).
The Beatles Story (Odeon OP-7553-4 stereo) This 2 LP documentary was released in August, 1966 as a box set. First issue obi was blue with a white triangle at the top. The album was later reissued on Apple in 1969 as (AP-8676-7) As far as we know, only the original 1966 issue was pressed on red vinyl.
Revolver (Odeon OP-7600 stereo) Released in 1966 with a blue obi with a white triangle, Revolver was also reissued in 1969 with a green obi with an Odeon logo (OP-8443)
A Collection of Beatles Oldies (Odeon OP-8016 stereo) This February, 1967 release had a blue obi with a yellow triangle at the top. The May, 1969 Apple reissue was also pressed on red vinyl as (AP-8016).
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Odeon OP-8163 stereo) This 1967 release had a custom red obi with an Odeon logo. The 1969 reissue on Apple had the same obi with an Apple logo and catalog number (AP-8163)
Magical Mystery Tour (Odeon OP-9728 stereo) Both the original 1967 release and the 1970 Apple reissue (AP-9728) were pressed on red vinyl. This LP had a white obi with blue print for both issues.
The Beatles (White Album) (Apple AP-8570-1 stereo) This January, 1969 release was issued on red vinyl and had a numbered cover with included photo inserts and a poster, as with the U.S. pressings. This LP was issued with a green die-cut obi with an Apple logo that was wider than the rest of the obi.
Yellow Submarine (Apple AP-8610 stereo) This March, 1969 release had a white obi with red print and an Apple logo.
Abbey Road (Apple AP-8815) This October, 1969 release had a green die-cut obi.
Let It Be (box set) (Apple AP-9009) This June, 1970 limited edition box set contained the Let It Be album as well as the softcover book and was issued in packaging that was similar to the UK release. Issued with a green die-cut obi.
Let It Be (standard version) (Apple AP-80189) The standard version of Let It Be was issued in early 1971 and had a green die-cut obi as well as a second gold one.
Beatles VI (Apple AP-80035) Despite being released in the U.S. in 1965, Beatles VI wasn’t released in Japan until 1970. This LP had a white obi with a green die-cut Apple. The red vinyl pressing was very limited, and this title is one of the hardest Japanese Beatles LPs to find on red vinyl.
The Early Beatles (Apple AP-80034) Despite being released in the U.S. in 1965, The Early Beatles wasn’t released in Japan until 1970. This LP had a white obi with a green die-cut Apple.
Something New (Apple AP-80083) Despite being released in the U.S. in 1964, Something New wasn’t released in Japan until 1970. This LP had a white obi with a green die-cut Apple.
Yesterday and Today (Apple AP-80061) This LP, originally released in the U.S. in 1966, wasn’t released in Japan until October, 1970. This version had a gatefold cover and a white obi with a green die-cut Apple.
Beatles Without the Beatles (Odeon OR-7244 stereo) This late 1965/early 1966 LP was not a Beatles album, but was instead a Japan-only compilation album of Beatles’ songs as covered by other artists. It’s noteworthy because of the unusual photo of the Beatles on the cover. The obi was likely the blue obi with the half circle on top.
Australian yellow vinyl pressing of Yellow Submarine from 1987.
As far as we know, the titles listed above are the only Beatles colored vinyl albums that were released on colored vinyl when originally released.
There were also a number of Japanese titles that were pressed on colored vinyl as reissues; we’ll cover those below.
Reissue Beatles Colored Vinyl Albums by Country
While Japan is the only country of which we’re aware that released Beatles colored vinyl albums as original releases, many countries have offered reissue pressings of colored vinyl Beatles albums.
Listed below are countries that have released Beatles colored vinyl albums, along with the titles and year of release. To the best of our knowledge, all of these releases were limited editions that were offered for sale for only a short time.
Australia
To date, there have been three official colored vinyl Beatles albums released in Australia:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone PCSO 7027) A red vinyl release, issued in 1987.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Parlophone PCSO 7068) A translucent white vinyl pressing, issued in 1987.
Yellow Submarine (Parlophone PCSO 7070) A yellow vinyl pressing, released in 1987.
Other colored vinyl Beatles albums pop up from time to time, such as a green vinyl pressing of Abbey Road, but these are unauthorized pirate pressings.
Brazil
We’ve seen a few Beatles colored vinyl albums from Brazil in recent years, such as a blue vinyl or white vinyl pressing of Revolver, and a white vinyl pressing of Let It Be, but as far as we know, these are all unauthorized pressings.
Canada
1978 Canadian release of Love Songs on yellow vinyl.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Capitol SEAV 11840) Gray marbled vinyl, issued in 1978.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Capitol SEBX 11841) White vinyl; 1978
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Capitol SEBX 11842) Red vinyl; 1978
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Capitol SEBX 11843) Blue vinyl; 1978
Love Songs (Capitol SEBX 11844) Yellow vinyl; 1978
Reel Music (SV-12199) Numbered, limited edition on yellow vinyl in 1982. These were promotional items.
The Sgt. Pepper and Love Songs LPs were widely imported into the United States when they were new. The other titles are rarely seen outside of Canada.
Colombia
As far as we know, there has only been one colored vinyl Beatles album (and one 12″ single) released in Colombia, though others may exist:
20 Greatest Hits (EMI 11931) 1982 release on blue vinyl
Hey Jude/Yesterday/A Hard Day’s Night (Apple 446-1046) 1980 12″ single issued on both yellow and green vinyl.
Ecuador
The Beatles 1962-1966 (EMI/Odeon 302-0088/89) 2 LP set on red vinyl, probably from 1978. It’s likely that there was a blue vinyl pressing of The Beatles 1967-1970 set from Ecuador, as well, but we cannot confirm this.
Hey Jude (EMI/Odeon 302-0024) This red vinyl pressing of the full album was likely released in the late 1970s.
Reel Music (EMI/Odeon 902-0001) 1982 release on blue vinyl.
France
There have been six Beatles colored vinyl albums released in France:
Help! (Parlophone DC-25) This 1978 release was pressed on orange vinyl with a “Disque en Colour” sticker on the cover.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone DC-1) This 1978 release was issued on eight different colors of vinyl: yellow, red, blue, white, purple, green, orange, and clear with a “Disque en Colour” sticker on the cover.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Apple DC-21-22) White vinyl release from 1978. There were two issues – one with a “Disque en Colour” sticker and one with an apple-shaped sticker on the cover.
Abbey Road (Apple DC-8) Green vinyl with a “Disque en Colour” sticker on the cover.
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple DC-17/18) 1978 first issue on red vinyl discs with a “Disque en Colour” sticker on the cover.
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple 2C 162 05307/08) 1978 second issue on red vinyl with a round sticker with an Apple logo.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple DC-19/20) 1978 first issue on blue vinyl discs with a “Disque en Colour” sticker on the cover.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple 2C 162 05309/10) 1978 second issue on blue vinyl with a round sticker with an Apple logo.
Germany
To date, there have been only three Beatles colored vinyl albums released in Germany.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Apple 1C 172-04 173/74 ) This 1978 release was pressed on white vinyl and sold with two stickers on the cover – a red one and a gold one.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Apple DMM 1C 172-04 173/74) This 1985 white vinyl reissue was direct-metal mastered, and has a black sticker that says “Pressung Weiss DMM” on the cover and says “DMM” on labels. This particular pressing may be the best-sounding vinyl version of the White Album ever released anywhere.
Beatles 1962-1966 – (Apple 1C 172-05 307/08) 1978 issue on red vinyl. Rectangular sticker on cover.
Beatles 1967-1970 – (Apple 1C 172-05 309/310) 1978 issue on blue vinyl. Rectangular sticker on cover.
Beatles 1962-1966 – DMM – (Apple 1C 172-05 307/08) 1985 red vinyl reissue. Direct-metal mastered pressing. Has round sticker that says “DMM” and also says “DMM” on labels.
Beatles 1967-1970 – DMM – (Apple 1C 172-05 309/310) 1985 blue vinyl reissue. Direct-metal mastered pressing. Has round sticker that says “DMM” and also says “DMM” on labels.
Great Britain
This limited edition green vinyl pressing of Abbey Road was made in the UK for export to the United States in 1978.
There have been seven Beatles colored vinyl albums released in Great Britain:
Magical Mystery Tour (Parlophone PCTC 255) 1978 yellow vinyl release; pressed for export to the U.S.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Apple PCS 7067/8) 1978 white vinyl release; pressed for export to the U.S. Originally issued with a large sticker with two British flags indicating that the pressing was white vinyl.
Abbey Road (Apple PCS 7088) 1978 green vinyl release; pressed for export to the U.S.
Let It Be (Apple PCS 7096) 1978 white vinyl release; pressed for export to the U.S.
Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple PCS 7171/72) 1978 red vinyl release
Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple PCSPP 7171/72) 1993 red vinyl reissue
Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple PCS 7181/82) 1978 blue vinyl release
Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple PCSPP 7181/82) 1993 blue vinyl reissue
Yellow Submarine (Apple 724352 14811 0A) 1999 yellow vinyl release with different cover from previous releases of the album. Issued to coincide with the release of Yellow Submarine on home video.
Japan
There have been a dozen reissue Beatles colored vinyl albums from Japan:
Beatles 1962-1966 (Odeon EAS 50021/22) 1978 release on red vinyl
Beatles 1962-1966 (Odeon EAS 50021/22) 1982 release on red vinyl – same number as above, but different obi
Beatles 1967-1970 (Odeon EAS 50023/24) 1982 release on blue vinyl
Beatles 1967-1970 (Odeon EAS 50023/24) 1982 release on blue vinyl – same number as above, but different obi
The 1986 red vinyl mono pressing of Rubber Soul from Japan
In 1982, Odeon records ten different Beatles albums on red vinyl. These pressings were the UK versions of the albums, pressed in mono.
None of these titles had originally been issued in mono in Japan during the 1960s.
These red vinyl pressings used a different vinyl formula from the red vinyl pressings of the 1960s and early 1970s, with a lighter, more translucent color.
Please Please Me (Odeon EAS-70130) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
With The Beatles (Odeon EAS-70131) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
A Hard Day’s Night (Odeon EAS-70132) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Beatles For Sale (Odeon EAS-70133) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Help! (Odeon EAS-70134) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Rubber Soul (Odeon EAS-70135) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Revolver (Odeon EAS-70136) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Odeon EAS-70137) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
The Beatles (Odeon EAS-67157-8) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
Yellow Submarine (Odeon EAS-70138) Red vinyl 1982 issue. Reissued in 1986 with same number and different obi.
For the 1986 series, a limited number of box sets (estimated at 1000 copies) were issued titled “The Beatles Original Mono Record Box.” These box sets contained all ten of the albums listed above with no additional content. All ten records were pressed on red vinyl.
Netherlands
This purple vinyl pressing of The Beatles Greatest from the Netherlands is quite hard to find.
There have been four different Beatles colored vinyl albums released in the Netherlands:
Greatest Hits (Parlophone 5C 062-04207) This 1978 release was issued on gold, purple, orange and yellow vinyl. The gold vinyl version is relatively common; the other three colors are quite rare.
Greatest Hits (Parlophone OMHS 3001) Second issue on gold vinyl only. Date unknown.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Parlophone 5C 062-04177) 1978 yellow vinyl pressing.
Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple 5C 184-05307/08) 1978 release on red vinyl
Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple 5C 184-05309/10) 1978 release on blue vinyl
Peru
As far as we know, there has been only one colored vinyl Beatles album released in Peru:
A Hard Day’s Night (EMI BE.02.0010) 1986 release on clear vinyl
South Africa
As far as we know, there were three colored vinyl Beatles albums released in South Africa:
TheBeatles (aka “The White Album”) (Parlophone PCSJ 7068) 1978 issue on translucent white vinyl.
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Apple PCSPJ 717/1/2) 1978 issue on translucent red vinyl.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Apple PCSPJ 718/1/2) 1978 issue on translucent blue vinyl.
Spain
As far as we know, there has been only one colored vinyl Beatles album released in Spain:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Odeon 10C 064-04177) This 1978 release was pressed on yellow vinyl.
Sweden
This red vinyl pressing of Let It Be is the only Beatles colored vinyl from Sweden
To date, there has been one colored vinyl Beatles album released in Sweden:
Let It Be (Apple PCS 7096) This 1978 limited edition was pressed on red vinyl. Red sticker on the cover reads “Röd Vinyl Special Pressing.”
United States
There have only been four Beatles colored vinyl albums released in the United States:
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Capitol SEBX 11841) White vinyl; 1978. Sold with large round sticker on shrink wrap indicating a white vinyl pressing.
The Beatles 1962-1966 (Capitol SEBX 11842) Red vinyl; 1978. Sold with large round sticker on shrink wrap indicating a red vinyl pressing.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Capitol SEBX 11843) Blue vinyl; 1978. Sold with large round sticker on shrink wrap indicating a blue vinyl pressing.
Love Songs (Capitol SEBX 11844) Yellow vinyl. These colored vinyl pressings were promotional items only; all stock copies were black. Limited to 12,000 individually numbered copies.
Beatles Colored Vinyl Albums by Title
This yellow vinyl pressing of Reel Music was released in 1982 as a promotional item.
Nearly every album ever released by the Beatles has been issued on colored vinyl somewhere. Here is a listing of all of the Beatles albums that we know were released on colored vinyl:
A Collection of Beatles Oldies – Red vinyl (Japan)
A Hard Day’s Night – Red vinyl (Japan), clear vinyl (Peru)
Abbey Road – Issued on both red vinyl (Japan) and green vinyl (France and Great Britain)
Beatles #5 – Red vinyl (Japan)
Beatles VI – Red vinyl (Japan)
Beatles 1962-1966 – Red vinyl (Canada, Ecuador,France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, U.S.)
Beatles 1967-1970 – Blue vinyl (Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, U.S.,)
Help! (UK version) – Red vinyl (Japan) orange vinyl (France)
Let It Be (box set) – Red vinyl (Japan)
Let It Be (regular LP) – Red vinyl (Japan, Sweden) white vinyl (Great Britain)
Love Songs – Yellow vinyl (Canada)
Magical Mystery Tour – Yellow vinyl (Great Britain)
Meet the Beatles – Red vinyl (Japan)
Please, Please Me – Red vinyl (Japan)
Reel Music – Yellow vinyl (Canada and U.S. – both promo-only), blue vinyl (Ecuador)
Revolver – Red vinyl (Japan)
Rubber Soul – Red vinyl (Japan)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – Yellow vinyl (France, Netherlands, Spain) Red vinyl (Australia, France, Japan) gray marble vinyl (Canada) clear, blue, white, purple, green, orange vinyl (France)
Something New – Red vinyl (Japan)
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) Red vinyl (Japan) white vinyl (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, South Africa, U.S.
The Beatles Second Album (Japan version mono) – Red vinyl (Japan)
The Beatles Second Album (U.S. version stereo) – Red vinyl (Japan)
The Beatles Story – Red vinyl (Japan)
The Early Beatles – Red vinyl (Japan)
With the Beatles – Red vinyl (Japan)
Yellow Submarine – Red vinyl (Japan) yellow vinyl (Australia, Great Britain)
Yesterday and Today – Red vinyl (Japan)
Known Variations
This copy of the White Album was experimental and has one gray disc
We are aware of a few odd variations on Beatles colored vinyl albums that have turned up over the years. Occasionally, copies of any album that should be a single color will appear with a mixture of colors; this often happens when the pressing plant is changing from one color to another.
We’ve seen copies of the UK pressing of Abbey Road that should have been all green instead pressed with a mixture of green and black for instance.
There are also a few known examples of albums that were pressed in unusual colors for test purposes:
Great Britain
Abbey Road (Apple PCS 7088) A 1987 pressing of the album exists on red vinyl; there are reportedly only four copies known to exist. All other copies of this pressing were on black vinyl.
Yellow Submarine (Apple 724352 14811 0A) At least three copies of this 1999 pressing are known to exist on red vinyl, when all other copies were yellow vinyl.
A UK pressing of Magical Mystery Tour with brown vinyl mixed in with the yellow
Japan
The Best of the Beatles (Odeon OP-7177 stereo) (unreleased) This Japan-only compilation LP was scheduled for a February, 1965 release date but was canceled. Red vinyl test pressings exist, but no covers were ever printed.
United States
Love Songs (Capitol SKBL-11711) A few copies were pressed on brown marbled vinyl as a test. While most of the copies that have turned up consist only of one record from the two record set, at least one complete copy exists where both records were pressed on colored vinyl.
The Beatles 1967-1970 (Capitol SEBX 11843) At least one experimental copy is known to exist with one disc pressed on clear vinyl. Pressed in 1978.
The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (Capitol SEBX 11841) During testing phases for the intended release of this album on white vinyl, a few copies of the first disc only were pressed on either marbled gray vinyl or marbled pink and white vinyl.
Beatles VI (Capitol ST 2358) At least one experimental copy is known to exist on clear vinyl. Pressed in 1978.
A Hard Day’s Night (United Artists UAL 3366) One copy of the U.S. mono version of this album is know to exist on pink vinyl. This record was found at a yard sale in Los Angeles in the 1990s.
Beatles Colored Vinyl Albums Summary
If you’re a record collector, a collector of colored vinyl, or a collector of Beatles records, you’ll likely find Beatles colored vinyl albums to be of interest.
We’ve counted close to 30 different albums by the Beatles that have been released commercially on one or more colors of vinyl. Some of them are relatively common, and others are rare to the point where you’ll likely never see one, let alone own one.
Most of them, however, are common enough and affordable enough that anyone with more than a passing interest in the Beatles might want to own one or more of them.
Beatles colored vinyl albums have the same great music as the black vinyl versions, of course, but they offer something that’s just a little more exciting to see when they’re spinning on your turntable.
What are my records worth? That’s a common question these days as record albums are making a comeback among both casual music fans and hard core collectors. People are aware that some records are valuable, but most people don’t know exactly which records people are looking for or why they’re looking for them.
Establishing vinyl records value is an inexact science, and there are a number of factors that go into determining whether a given record is something that will bring a lot of money from a collector or something that would best be used as a place mat.
In this post, we’ll go over a number of factors that may determine the value of a particular record. Keep in mind that there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration, and it’s quite rare for a record to be valuable based on one factor alone. It’s usually a combination of things that add to a vinyl record’s value, and other factors can sometimes turn a valuable record into one that isn’t worth all that much seemingly overnight.
The list of qualities that can affect a vinyl record’s value is constantly changing, and the list shown below should not be considered to be definitive. As this post on vinyl records value is going to be fairly lengthy, we’ll divide it into sections.
Vinyl Records Value Categories
Click any of the links below to jump to each category:
Many of the people we’ve spoken to about records over the years have the impression that “old records” must be worth more than new ones. While the age can have an effect on a vinyl record’s value, it’s one of the less important factors. Releases from early in the career of a famous artist may have more value than those from later in their careers, particularly if they didn’t become famous right away. A good example of this would be the recordings of Elvis Presley. While his first five records for the Memphis-based Sun label sold reasonably well for their day, their sales figures were minuscule compared to those of his later releases on RCA, making the Sun versions fairly valuable.
On the other hand, records by artists that are not of interest to collectors will have little value, regardless of age. There are many records in the easy listening genre from the 1950s, such as those by Ray Conniff or Percy Faith, that are now some 60 years old, but they still sell for only a couple of dollars in most used records stores, provided they bother to offer them for sale at all.
“Old records” may have some value, but as a rule, it’s not because they’re old. It’s because of something else.
Who is the Artist?
This should be obvious, but the artist in question will be a big factor in determining the value of a record. While tens of thousands of artists have released records since the invention of the medium, not all of them interest the public in equal measure.
Some artists are simply more popular as well as more collectible than others. Artists in the rock, blues, jazz, classical and soul categories tend to be more collectible than those in the easy listening, country, spoken word or comedy categories.
Famous artists’ records tend to be more valuable
Some artists tend to have a longtime following, while others are popular only while they are actively recording. With the former, such as Elvis Presley, Pink Floyd, blues singer Robert Johnson, or the Beatles, many of their records remain both valuable and highly collectible long after they stopped recording or even after their deaths.
Other artists may have had records with high values only during the time they were recording, with prices in the collector market dropping considerably after they finished their careers or when they passed away.
In the late 1970s, for example, Todd Rundgren and the Cars were highly collectible, but these days, there’s little interest in their recordings. On the other hand, records by the Beatles are selling for the highest prices ever and prices remain steady more than 50 years after they released their last album.
Exceptions to that exist; that can come in the form of artists who were never particularly popular, but who were influential in the industry. That’s true of artists such as Robert Johnson, the Velvet Underground, or the Stooges. None of these artists were very successful and their records sold poorly when new. All three were enormous influences on other musicians, however, and as a result, their records sell for surprisingly high prices today.
Still, as a rule, popular artists will have records with higher values than obscure ones.
Overall Scarcity
This factor is pretty straightforward when it comes to vinyl records value; records that sold well and are quite common are going to be less valuable than records that sold poorly or are hard to find. A lot of albums sold in the 1970s and early 1980s sold millions of copies when new, and as such, it isn’t difficult to find copies in nice, playable condition.
That being the case, such records aren’t likely to sell for very much money in the collectors market.
Even best-selling records can get scarce over time
On the other hand, even records that sold well when new can become scarce in time, especially when one takes the condition of the record into account. Albums by Elvis Presley and the Beatles sold millions of copies when they were first released, but finding nice original copies of those records now can be difficult, as many have been thrown away or damaged through heavy play or abuse.
People have tended to take better care of their records in recent decades, so it’s a lot easier to find a nice copy of a 1980s album by Bruce Springsteen than it is to find a near mint 1960s album by the Rolling Stones, for example.
“Common” is also relative; records that sold well in the 1950s and 1960s still sold in substantially smaller quantities than those sold in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1950s, it was rare for even a popular album to sell much more than a million copies. By the 1980s, albums selling more than 5 million copies were relatively common.
What the “common vs. scarce” factor means is that the most valuable record by a particular artist may not be their best-known title, but rather one that was disregarded by the public and/or critics when originally released, making it relatively scarce today. A good example of this would be Music from the Elder by Kiss, released in 1981. Released after a string of best-selling albums, Music from the Elder had a different sound from their previous releases and offered no hit songs and no songs that regularly received airplay. As a result, the album sold poorly and soon went out of print.
The group went back to making records that were similar to their earlier releases and sales of subsequent albums were brisk, making the now hard-to-find Music From the Elder a collector’s item.
Sealed Records
One factor that’s of vital importance in determining a vinyl record’s value is condition, which we’ll discuss at length later. Because the condition of a record is held to be important by collectors, the ideal example of a record to own, in the eyes of many collectors, would be one that has never been played at all. Because of this, collectors will often pay a huge premium for sealed, unopened examples of records they are seeking.
When record albums were first offered in the late 1940s, they were sold without any external wrapping on the cover. Customers in record stores could remove the records from the cover and many stores would even allow them to play the records to help them make a buying decision. This led to problems with both theft and damage, and by the early 1960s, a number of large retailers started sealing their albums in plastic bags. Eventually, this practice was picked up by the major record companies, who began protecting their covers with shrink wrap.
In general, a copy of an album that is still in original, unopened shrink wrap will sell for a lot more money than one that is in opened condition, even if the opened copy has not been played.
The difference in price can range from modest to quite significant, depending on the artist and title. A sealed copy of a relatively recent release may carry a small premium over an opened copy, but older and/or more desirable titles may exhibit a substantially larger premium. Sealed copies of older albums by the Beatles might sell for as much as ten times the price of an opened example, for instance.
This is a case where age can affect vinyl records value, as the older an album is, the harder it is to find a copy that has never been opened or played.
Autographed Records
An example of an autographed record.
One factor that can influence vinyl records value is having the autograph of the artist on it. While autographed albums and single aren’t particularly common (while forgeries of them are), they usually do command a premium over regular copies of the record that are not signed.
Autographed records that are personalized, such as “To Jane, best wishes…” tend to sell for less money than those that simply have the artist’s signature on it. When it comes to musical groups and autographs, albums that are autographed by the entire group will sell for substantially higher prices than those with the signatures of some, but not all, members.
Autographed records with provenance, such as a photograph of the artist signing the record, tend to bring the highest prices of all.
Commercial vs. Promotional Issues
One factor that can affect vinyl records value is if the record in question is a promotional issue, as opposed to a commercial, or “stock,” copy of the record. Promotional, or “promo,” copies of a record are often identified in some way, and they often have a special label that indicates that the particular records was made for promotional, or radio station, use. While the labels on most records are colored, many promotional issues have white labels, which has led to the term “white label promo” being used among collectors.
Promotional copies of records are usually pressed before retail, or “stock” copies to ensure that they reach radio stations prior to the commercial release of the record. They are also pressed in relatively small quantities compared to stock copies of the same records. While an album may sell in the millions, there may be only a few hundred promotional copies made of that same record, making them collector’s items.
Sometimes, promotional copies of a particular record may be different from the stock counterpart. The promotional copies of the Beatles’ single “Penny Lane” had a different ending than the version of the song on the stock copies of the single, making these rare copies quite valuable in comparison to the million-selling stock counterpart.
On other occasions, a record may be issued only as a promotional item. Such albums may be live recordings, made for radio broadcast, or perhaps compilation albums, again intended to stimulate airplay. These “promo-only” releases are usually sought after by collectors, though the interest in them will be directly related to the interest in the artist. A promo-only Rolling Stones record, for example, will attract far more interest from collectors than one by Andy Williams.
As a rule, a promotional copy of any record will command higher prices in the collector’s market than the stock counterpart, though there are occasional situations where the opposite is true. Some records have sold so poorly in stores that the promotional copies are actually more common than the stock counterparts. A good example of this is the Beatles’ first single, “My Bonnie,” which was credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. Promotional copies with a pink label, while relatively rare, are probably ten times more common than the stock copies with black labels, of which fewer than 20 copies are known to exist.
This issue of scarcity comes into play when one looks at whether a particular record was released by a small, regional label or a large national one. Larger labels have national distribution and multiple pressing plants, and popular records might be pressed in the millions. Smaller labels might press only a few hundred or several thousand copies of a particular record.
There are examples of records being initially released on small labels and then later released on larger labels when the small record company negotiated a distribution deal with the larger label in order to sell more records. An example of this would be the 1963 surf album Pipeline by the Chantays, which was originally released on the California-based Downey label. When the song became a hit, Downey struck a deal with the nationally distributed Dot records to have them release the album instead. Today, copies of the album on the Downey label are far harder to find than their Dot counterparts, and sell for higher prices.
Sometimes an artist will release records on a small label and then move to a larger one. In these cases, their earlier releases tend to be more collectible than their later ones. The country group Alabama released a couple of albums on the small LSI label under the name “Wild Country” before changing their name and moving to the large RCA label. As the records by the group issued by RCA sold quite well, they tend to sell for modest prices. The two albums on LSI, on the other hand, are quite rare and sell for several hundred dollars or more when they’re offered for sale.
Another example, also in the country genre, is the first album by Jim Reeves. His first album, Jim Reeves Sings, was issued in 1956 on the small Abbott label. When that album began to sell well, Reeves moved to major label RCA. While his RCA albums sell for modest prices, his lone album on Abbot has sold for as much as $1000.
Label Variations
One album, 6 different labels. One is worth $10; one is worth $10,000!
A significant factor in determining a vinyl record’s value is the label on the record itself. A given album or single might have been released with several different labels on the disc itself, even among releases by the same record company.
Record companies often change the appearance of the labels used on their records. While it has happened less often in recent decades, changes in label art an appearance were quite common among the major labels during the 1960s and 1970s.
Records by the Beatles, for instance, were released by Capitol Records on a black label with a rainbow colored perimeter, a green label, a red label, a custom Apple label, an orange label, a purple label, and a new version of the original black label, all over a period of less than 20 years.
As a rule, collectors tend to favor original pressings, so for a given title, the most desirable label variation would be whichever one was in use on the day the record was originally released for sale to the public. There are exceptions to this, however. The red Capitol label mentioned above was commonly used in the early 1970s for a number of titles, but was never intended to be used for records by the Beatles. A few copies of the band’s Revolver and Yesterday and Today albums were accidentally issued with that label, and despite not being “original” issues, they do sell for quite a lot of money on the collector’s market.
Sometimes, minor differences on labels can make a difference, as well. The first copies of Meet the Beatles to be sold in America were rushed to the stores without including publishing information for the songs on the record. While later copies had either “BMI” or “ASCAP” after each song title, the very first issues of the album sold in stores lacked this text. While this might seem to be a minor matter, the difference in value between a copy that lacks the text and one that has it can be more than $1000, depending on condition.
As many albums by popular artists have remained in print for many years, or even decades, the label on the record in question is often a significant factor in determining that vinyl record’s value.
Mono vs. Stereo vs. Quadraphonic
A significant factor that can affect a vinyl record’s value is the format. Until 1957, records were sold only in mono. Between 1957 and 1968, records were usually sold in both mono and stereo, and between about 1972 and 1976, a few records were available in 4 channel quadraphonic sound. During the time when records were sold in more than one format simultaneously, one of the formats was usually pressed in smaller quantities than the other. Mono records were more common than their stereo counterparts in the early 1960s, for instance, but were the harder variation to find by 1968. Quadraphonic pressings were always intended for a niche market, and never sold in large quantities, except in the few cases where all copies of a particular title were encoded in quadraphonic sound.
While the value of a mono record in relation to its stereo counterpart will depend on when the record was released, quadraphonic copies are almost always worth more money than the same album in stereo.
While most records are pressed from black vinyl, sometimes other colors are used. On rare occasions, a special process is used to create a picture disc, which has a photograph or other graphics actually embedded in the record’s playing surface. With few exceptions, colored vinyl and picture disc pressings are limited editions, and are usually far harder to find than their black vinyl counterparts.
Both colored vinyl pressings and picture discs have been issued as commercial releases and as promo-only releases. In the early 1960s, Columbia Records would occasionally press promotional copies of both singles and albums on colored vinyl (we’ve seen red, yellow, blue, green, and purple) in order to grab the attention of radio programmers.
In the late 1970s, picture discs were often pressed as promotional items and became quite popular among collectors. Most of these were pressed in quantities of only a few hundred copies.
More often, colored vinyl and picture disc records are issued as limited edition pressings, created to spur interest among buyers. Most of these titles are also available on regular (and more common) black vinyl.
As with everything else on this list, there are occasional exceptions to the rule. Elvis Presley’s last album to be issued while he was alive was Moody Blue, which was pressed on blue vinyl when originally released. A couple of months later, RCA Records began to press the album on regular black vinyl as a cost-cutting move, which would have made the earlier blue vinyl pressings relatively rare and desirable as time passed. Shortly after this decision was made, Elvis passed away, and the label made the decision to return to using blue vinyl for that album, and all pressings for the next ten years or so were issued on blue vinyl. In the case of Moody Blue, it’s the black vinyl pressings, which were only pressed for a short period of time, that are the rare ones.
We’ve written articles about colored vinyl and picture discs, and you can read it here:
While vinyl record albums usually include printed covers, most 45 RPM singles do not, as they were generally issued in plain paper sleeves. It was not uncommon, however, for singles to be issued in special printed sleeves bearing the title of the song, the name of the artist and perhaps a graphic or photograph. These are known as picture sleeves or title sleeves, and most of the time, these picture sleeves were available only with the original issues of the records. While not intended as limited edition items per se, picture sleeves were designed to spur sales and were often discontinued once sales of the record began to increase.
For various reasons, some picture sleeves are harder to find than others, and there are a number of records, some by famous artists, where certain picture sleeves are rare to the point where only a few copies are known to exist. Some picture sleeves, such as “Street Fighting Man” by the Rolling Stones, which was withdrawn prior to release, can sell for more than $30,000.
Others are rare, but not to that degree. The picture sleeve for the Beatles’ single “Can’t Buy Me Love” were commercially available, but were only printed by one of Capitol Records’ pressing plants, making it available only for a short time and only in the eastern United States. It’s one of the rarest commercially available Beatles picture sleeves, and mint copies have sold for more than $1000.
This is one of the factors that pretty much has no exceptions; a record with a picture sleeve is always more valuable than the same record without one.
Acetates and Test Pressings
While the majority of records are standard issues that were manufactured with the intention that they be sold in stores, some are pre-production versions that were made for in-house use at the record companies prior to making the stock pressings.
Acetates, or lacquers, as they are more properly known, are records that are individually cut on a lathe by a recording engineer. The recordings are cut on metal plates that are coated with soft lacquer. Acetates are the first step in the process of making a record, as they can be plated with metal and used to make stampers for production of the copies sold in stores.
They can also be played on a turntable and are often used to evaluate the sound of a song or an album prior to putting it into formal production. While acetates can be played as one would play any regular record, they don’t wear particularly well and will become quite noisy after only a few plays.
On rare occasions, acetates have been sent to radio stations as promotional items when regular pressings were not yet available.
As acetates are cut one at a time, they are understandably rare, and command a high value in the market place as they are both rare and unusual.
Test pressings are a bit more common than acetates, and are made to test stampers prior to mass produced production runs. They are usually the first pressings made from a set of stampers, and can be distinguished by their labels, which will differ from those used on stock pressings. Test pressings may have blank white labels or they may have special labels that indicate that they are test pressings. These custom labels usually have blank lines printed on them so that the people working with them can write the title and artist on the labels by hand.
As with acetates, test pressings are usually used for evaluation purposes by record company personnel, though they are occasionally sent out as promotional items. As they are rather unusual and limited in production to just a handful of copies, test pressings are highly regarded and sought out by collectors. Sometimes, test pressings may contain different versions of one or more songs from the commercially released albums. This can also add to their value.
Test pressings of Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 album Born to Run were sent to radio stations in a cover that had the album title in a different font from commercial releases. These so-called “Script Cover” pressings of the album have sold for more than $1000.
Records pressed in foreign countries are often of interest to record collectors. While most collectors are interested in records from the country where they live, a lot of them are interested in owning anything unusual by the artists that interest them.
Most record albums are designed by record companies in either the United States or Great Britain, and most releases from either country are nearly identical. Other countries, however, have been known to create dramatically different versions of records from the U.S. or UK counterparts.
Sometimes, foreign pressings may have different titles, or different covers from the more common versions from the U.S. or UK. On other occasions, record companies in other countries may choose to press albums on colored vinyl.
Many albums from Japan from the late 1950s through the early 1970s were pressed on dark red vinyl. Japanese pressings were also issued with a paper sash, or “obi,” that wrapped around the cover and provided information for the buyer in Japanese.
These pressings are highly regarded by collectors for both their unusual appearance and their sound quality.
If an artist is not from the United States, collectors will often seek out records from the artist’s country of origin. While many American Beatles records are worth a lot of money, so are those from Great Britain, as the band released records there prior to releasing them in the U.S.
Prices for foreign (non-U.S.) records can vary widely, depending on age, condition, and all of the other factors mentioned in this article. In general, collectors in the United States will always be interested, to some degree, in any foreign record by artists whose records they collect.
While scarcity can be a major factor in a vinyl record’s value, intentional scarcity can affect it even more. While limited edition pressings of albums are a relatively new thing, they are now quite common, with record companies intentionally limiting releases to a few hundred or a few thousand copies.
In past decades, when records were the predominant format for selling music, record companies were content to sell as many copies as possible of a given title. In recent years, records have become more of a niche item, and record companies are somewhat hesitant to spend the money to master, press, and distribute them. By producing only a limited number of a given title, and by making it publicly known that production will be limited to xxx number of copies, the record companies have a greater likelihood of having a particular title sell out quickly, rather than sitting on a shelf for a period of months or years.
Sometimes, these limited editions are individually numbered, while most are not. Sometimes, a limited number of copies of a given album will be pressed on colored vinyl, with a larger number pressed on black vinyl. In some cases, such as with the soundtrack album to the 2010 film Inception, all copies are colored vinyl and they are numbered as well.
Limited edition pressings by most any artist will have some value above the original selling price, as record companies are unlikely to issue limited edition pressings if there is no established market for them.
The exception to this would be records from companies that do not ordinarily release records, such as the Franklin Mint. Over the years, the Franklin Mint has released a number of recordings as limited edition sets, usually spanning many volumes. Most of these recordings were also pressed on colored vinyl and the sets were marketed in mass media to consumers who were not record collectors. These recordings have little value unless they are offered in complete sets, some of which came with as many as 100 records.
Withdrawn Releases
The original withdrawn “Butcher cover” version of Yesterday and Today.
Occasionally, record companies release an album or single, only to change their mind and withdraw it from general release. This can happen for a number of reasons, ranging from a corporate decision that may or may not have anything to do with the record itself, a decision by the artist to change the product after release, or even an announcement by prominent retailers that they will refuse to sell the record as released.
Regardless of the reason for withdrawing the record from circulation, such releases will naturally be scarce, hard to find, and in demand among collectors. More often than not, withdrawn releases will also command substantial prices on the collector market.
Listed below are a few examples of record albums which were withdrawn from the market shortly before or shortly after being released to stores.
Angel – Bad Publicity – The 1979 album Bad Publicity had a cover that depicted the band having a raucus party in a hotel room. After only a handful of copies had been issued as promotional items, the album was withdrawn, retitled to Sinful, and released with completely different artwork showing the band in white suits against a white background.
Prince – The Black Album – In 1987, Prince intended to release an untitled album that had an all-black cover on which neither a title nor the name of the artist appeared. The so-called “Black Album” was withdrawn prior to release at the request of Prince himself, for reasons that remain unclear to this day. A few copies have leaked out over the years, and they have sold for as much as $25,000.
The Beatles – When retailers complained about the original cover art for the Beatles’ 1966 album Yesterday and Today, which showed the band sitting on a bench with broken dolls and raw meat, Capitol Records ordered all copies returned from stores and radio stations. The cover was replaced by a picture of the band sitting around a steamer trunk.
This so-called “Butcher Cover” is perhaps the best known record in all of record collecting, and copies have sold for thousands of dollars.
Original (color) and counterfeit (black and white)
Whenever there’s a commodity that is worth money to people, there are unscrupulous people who try to take advantage of them by forging that commodity. Paintings have been forged, currency has been counterfeited, and unfortunately, so have many rare records.
While there are many factors that go into determining vinyl records value, perhaps none is more important than the need for the record to be an original pressing and not a counterfeit pressing created at a later date to resemble the original issue.
Counterfeit records first appeared on the market in the late 1960s or early 1970s and while the early attempts were rather obvious and fairly crude, technology has improved in recent years, making many counterfeit records difficult for the layman to identify. The practice isn’t limited to rare or valuable titles, either, as a number of mass-produced titles were counterfeited in the late 1970s. These titles were sold by chain record stores alongside the legitimate record company issues.
If a record routinely sells for a lot of money, there is a good chance that the title in question has been counterfeited. Many albums by the Beatles, along with other popular artists such as the Yardbirds, Elvis Presley, and Pink Floyd, have been counterfeited. In a few cases, such as the Beatles album Introducing the Beatles, counterfeit copies may actually outnumber the real ones.
It goes without saying that a counterfeit copy of a rare record will have limited value when compared with an original pressing.
One factor that can significantly affect a vinyl record’s value is the availability of reissues. In the 1950s through the mid-1970s, record companies kept close tabs on whether an album was selling well or poorly. Poor selling albums were usually removed from the catalog and existing copies were sold at a discount. Starting in the 1980s, record companies took a different approach, and reduced the prices of slow-selling records, keeping them in print but offering them for sale at a lower price point.
Collectors often become interested in records that have gone out of print, and the prices for these no longer available titles can get quite high, depending on the artist and title. In these cases, collectors are usually paying high prices simply to hear the music. Record companies do pay attention to such market trends, and today, it’s quite common to see newly-pressed reissues of albums for sale that haven’t been available on the market in decades.
In the case of some albums, which may have only been originally for sale from small record companies, these reissues might actually sell more copies than the original album. When an album is reissued, the original vinyl record’s value usually falls in the marketplace. While some collectors remain interested in owning an early or an original pressing of a recently reissued album, there are others who are only interested in hearing the music, and will be happy to own a reissued version of the album instead.
Reissues can often affect a vinyl record’s value dramatically, and sometimes, the price of original pressings can drop as much as 90% when a formerly rare album again becomes available as a newly-released record.
Condition of the Record
While all of the factors listed above are important when it comes to evaluating a vinyl record’s value, perhaps none is as important as the condition of the record. Most mass produced records sold over the past 60 years or so have been poorly cared for by their owners. They may have been played on low-quality equipment, stored outside of their covers, and handled by their playing surfaces, rather than their edges.
Record changers, which were phonographs that were capable of playing up to a dozen records in sequence, were popular in the 1960s and 1970s and were particularly prone to adding scratches and abrasions to a record’s playing surface. Many covers were poorly stored, leading to ring wear or splits in the covers. Furthermore, owners often wrote their names or other information on the record’s cover or label.
Condition matters a lot.
Collectors are interested in buying records in the best possible condition, and ideally, they’d like to own copies of all of their records in the same condition in which they were originally sold – mint and unplayed, with pristine covers.
Finding a copy of any record that is more than 20 years old in such condition is quite difficult, and the value of a record can vary widely depending on its condition. In the case of many records from the late 1950s and early 1960s, finding worn and nearly-unplayable copies of a particular record might be relatively easy, while finding one in mint condition may be nearly impossible.
In the case of such records, a mint copy might sell for 50 times as much money as a worn-out copy of the same record.
When it comes to a vinyl record’s value, condition is paramount, and worn copies of a record usually sell for modest amounts of money except in the cases of items that are rare to the point of being unique.
In the case of records that are common to moderately rare, any copy that isn’t in nearly new condition may have little to no value at all.
While some collectors are willing to accept “filler” copies of a rare record in poor to average condition until they find a better copy, most buyers prefer to buy only once, and will hold out for the best possible copy they can find.
What does all of this mean? It means that if you’re someone who has a box of “old records” and you want to know about those vinyl records’ value, you’ll likely discover that they’re common titles in average to poor condition and they’re likely not worth very much money.
On the other hand, if you have a rare record that is also in exceptionally nice condition, you’ll likely be able to sell it for a premium price.
Finding Recent Prices
Starting in the late 1970s, the easiest way to find out about vinyl records value was to consult a price guide. Over the past 40 years, a number of books have been published every other year or so that list the value of certain types of records. There are price guides for rock albums, jazz albums, classical albums, 45 RPM singles, country records, and soundtrack and original cast recordings. There are also specialty price guides for records from Japan, records by the Beatles and records by Elvis Presley.
A record price guide.
While these guides have served collectors and sellers fairly well, the books are bulky, somewhat expensive, and have a tendency to become outdated rather quickly. That’s not to say that they aren’t useful; on the contrary, they serve as valuable references. Furthermore, even the outdated price guides can offer insight as to how a vinyl record’s value has increased over time. It’s amusing to look at price guides from the late 1970s to see how albums that might sell for $1000 today were once listed as having a value of $35 or so.
Record price guides are still published today and they’re still useful tools. On the other hand, there are also some online tools that can provide some more accurate and up to date information regarding vinyl records value. Several sites, for example, monitor the sales of records on the eBay auction site and archive them, making it possible for you to see what a particular records might have sold for yesterday, or last month, or even five years ago.
As there are millions of records for sale on eBay, including multiple copies of most records at one time, the marketplace is somewhat of a buyer’s market, which means that the prices of most records sold on the site are somewhat lower than they might be in a record store or in a private transaction between two collectors.
Still, the millions of record sales on the site each year do provide some good insight into overall vinyl records value, and can also show trends over the past decade or so. This makes it easy to see if a particular record is increasing in value over time or going down as interest sometimes wanes.
While there are a number of different sites that track and archive record sales on eBay our favorite is:
Popsike.com – This site is free to use for a limited, but unspecified, number of searches. After a certain number of searches, you’ll be asked to register, which is free. If you exceed a further (unspecified) limit, you’ll be asked to subscribe. Currently, the cost of subscribing to Popsike is about $35 per year, though most users will never use the service enough to reach the threshold that requires paying a subscription fee.
Popsike’s home page has a few lists of popular searches, as well as lists of recent sales in certain popular categories, such as blues, Beatles, classic rock, jazz, and classical. You can search by artist or title and you can sort results by price or date of sale. Popsike has listings for record sales on eBay going back to 2003, though they note that their database is neither definitive nor exhaustive.
Discogs.com – This site offers records for sale along with photos, release dates, and other information regarding records of all kinds. It’s free to use as a reference; to buy or sell records at the site, you must create an account. One useful feature of the site is that all listings for titles that have previously been sold on the site list the average and highest prices for previous sales. This makes the site useful for finding the approximate value of a particular title.
Vinyl Records Value Conclusion
We hear from people all the time – “I have some records. What are they worth?” With most commodities, the answer is a fairly simple one. If you have an ounce of gold, it’s worth a certain amount of money. The same applies to a barrel of oil.
That’s not the case with records, however. Vinyl records value is determined by a number of factors, including condition, scarcity, the name of the artist, and a host of other things, both obvious and obscure.
Because the value of a particular record is tied to so many factors, it’s difficult to give a general answer as to its value without knowing all of the particulars about that particular pressing.
The quickest way to find out is to check with Popsike for a quick glance at recent sales. Keep in mind that these prices reflect retail sales, and not the amount of money that you’d receive if you’re selling to a store or a reseller. Keep in mind that the highest prices are paid for copies in near mint condition, which may or may not apply to the records you currently have in your possession.
Record collecting is a fascinating hobby, however, and the many factors that can go into determining vinyl records value are among the things that keep the hobby interesting to collectors.
When record albums were first offered in the late 1940s, they were sold without any external wrapping on the cover. Customers in record stores could remove the records from the cover and many stores would even allow them to play the records to help them make a buying decision. This led to problems with both theft and damage, and by the early 1960s, a number of large retailers started sealing their albums in plastic bags. Eventually, this practice was picked up by the major record companies, who began protecting their covers with shrink wrap.
Promotional copies of records are usually pressed before retail, or “stock” copies to ensure that they reach radio stations prior to the commercial release of the record. They are also pressed in relatively small quantities compared to stock copies of the same records. While an album may sell in the millions, there may be only a few hundred promotional copies made of that same record, making them collector’s items.
A significant factor that can affect a vinyl record’s value is the format. Until 1957, records were sold only in mono. Between 1957 and 1968, records were usually sold in both mono and stereo, and between about 1972 and 1976, a few records were available in 4 channel quadraphonic sound. During the time when records were sold in more than one format simultaneously, one of the formats was usually pressed in smaller quantities than the other. Mono records were more common than their stereo counterparts in the early 1960s, for instance, but were the harder variation to find by 1968. Quadraphonic pressings were always intended for a niche market, and never sold in large quantities, except in the few cases where all copies of a particular title were encoded in quadraphonic sound.
While most records are pressed from black vinyl, sometimes other colors are used. On rare occasions, a special process is used to create a picture disc, which has a photograph or other graphics actually embedded in the record’s playing surface. With few exceptions, colored vinyl and picture disc pressings are limited editions, and are usually far harder to find than their black vinyl counterparts.
While the majority of records are standard issues that were manufactured with the intention that they be sold in stores, some are pre-production versions that were made for in-house use at the record companies prior to making the stock pressings.
