While for many maestros the annual event, taking place on April 22, is an opportunity to acknowledge the vintage culture and community surrounding independently owned record stores, for many it could be a chance to cash in.
Carrington Dean looked at Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists and used eBay purchasing trends to find out just how much records, both vintage and more recent, were being auctioned for over the last six months, to reveal which records hold the most value.
The research comes as UK vinyl sales hit a record high in 2022 at £116.8 million – 16% more than CD sales for the first time in 35 years.
Anyone who owns any of the vinyl albums from the list below could be sitting on a hidden gem and potentially in for a financial windfall.
The highest-value records
| Rank | Record | Release | Year | Recently sold price |
| 1 | The Beatles – Please Please Me | Album | 1963 | £5,100.00 |
| 2 | David Bowie – Space Oddity | Single | 1969 | £3,200.00 |
| 3 | Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon | Album | 1973 | £3,151.00 |
| 4 | Beyonce – How To Make Lemonade | Boxset | 2016 | £2,750.00 |
| 5 | David Bowie – The Deram Anthology | Album | 1967 | £2,700.00 |
| 6 | The Beatles – The Beatles White Album | Album | 1968 | £2,650.00 |
| 7 | The Who – Zoot Suit | Single | 1964 | £2,500.00 |
| 8 | Led Zeppelin – 1 | Album | 1969 | £2,400.00 |
| 9 | Elvis Presley – Christmas Album | Album | 1957 | £2,111.55 |
| 10 | Elvis Presley – Milkcow Blues Boogie | Single | 1954 | £2,100.00 |
| 11 | Paul McCartney – McCartney | Album | 1970 | £1,999.99 |
| 12 | Led Zeppelin – 2 | Album | 1969 | £1,636.37 |
| 13 | Santana – Abraxas | Album | 1970 | £1,450.00 |
| 14 | Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin | Album | 1963 | £1,440.57 |
| 15 | Elvis Presley – Money Honey | Album | 1957 | £1,424.43 |
| 16 | Queen – Night at the Opera | Album | 1975 | £1,415.34 |
| 17 | The Beatles – Revolver | Album | 1966 | £1,341.00 |
| 18 | Lady Gaga – Born this way | Album | 2011 | £1,300.00 |
| 19 | Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited | Album | 1965 | £1,121.62 |
| 20 | Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for destruction | Album | 1987 | £1,035.39 |
What are the most valuable records?
The Beatles are arguably one of the most influential bands in music history with worldwide album sales topping 600 million.
Unsurprisingly, the most expensive LP was their 1963 pressing of their first album Please Please Me which recently sold for a whopping £5,100. Legendary pop icon, David Bowie followed with the hugely popular Space Oddity which went for £3,200.
Also making the top five is Pink Floyd, Beyoncé and a second appearance from David Bowie with fans forking out up to £3,000.
Our analysis showed that big sixties artists like David Bowie, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who and Led Zeppelin appear to have the most valuable pressings – averaging at £3,216.
Interestingly, only two albums post-millennia made it into the top 20, Beyonce’s 2016 album, How to Make Lemonade, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way from 2011.
The least expensive records to buy
| Record | Release | Year | Recently sold price |
| Beyonce – Renaissance | Album | 2022 | £129.97 |
| Barbra Streisand – Color Me Barbra | Album | 1987 | £128.47 |
| The Temptations- Why You Wanna Make Me Blue | Single | 1964 | £120.00 |
| Nickelback – Dark Horse | Album | 2008 | £120.00 |
| Foreigner – Head Games | Album | 1979 | £116.46 |
| The Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D | Album | 2009 | £115.00 |
| Justin Timberlake- Can’t Stop the Feeling | Single | 2016 | £113.00 |
| John Mellencamp – The Collection | Album | 1989 | £109.09 |
| Bryan Adams – Reckless | Album | 1984 | £106.34 |
| Huey Lewis and The News- Collected | Album | 2017 | £103.86 |
| Celine Dion – Colour of my Love | Single | 1990 | £101.00 |
| Nickelback – Silver Side Up | Album | 2003 | £100.00 |
| Daryl Hall John Oates- H20 | Album | 1980 | £99.00 |
| Earth, Wind and Fire- Party Invitation | Single | 1979 | £99.00 |
| Donna Summer – Bad Girls | Album | 2021 | £89.69 |
| Three Dog Night – Harmony | Album | 1971 | £87.34 |
| Paula Abdul – Spellbound | Album | 1991 | £72.79 |
| Olivia Newton John – Totally Hot | Album | 1978 | £69.63 |
| Maroon 5- Songs About Jane | Album | 2002 | £59.95 |
| Boyz II Men – Cooley High Harmony | Single | 1991 | £49.99 |
The latter 20 are a variety of artists ranging from pop to R&B. With it being out less than a year, Beyoncé’s latest album, Renaissance, came with a price of £129.97 which is still worth a pretty penny for fans.
Many of the 90’s and 2010’s artists on the list fell victim to the rise in CD sales and streaming services, meaning their vinyl offerings don’t command the same value. However, Beyonce’s Renaissance shows a turn in the tide for new vinyl value, with the latest album worth £129.97 for fans.
Cashing in on old records
If you’re fortunate enough to have an original Beatles or Bowie release gathering dust, it could be worth getting it valued.
Head to your local record store for advice or check similar items recently sold online for an idea of how much you could be sitting on.
Finding other ways to secure extra finance to help ease the tensions brought by the cost-of-living crisis could be hugely beneficial for tackling any debts that may be looming in the background.
However, these should not be an alternative to seeking out professional tailored advice from debt insolvency agencies.
We know that tackling debt can be daunting, especially if you feel like you’re unsure where to start to clear your debts. A Trust Deed or Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) could help you to pay off your debts with a monthly repayment plan that suits your financial circumstances.
Methodology
Using the Rolling Stones Top 100 Artists of all-time list, Carrington Dean looked at Ebay purchasing trends of vinyl records from the last 6 months.
Using this method, we compiled a dataset with the most expensive records to uncover the most expensive albums or singles from the most popular artists.
Data correct as of April 2023.
