Entertainment

6 of the Most Expensive Vinyl Records Ever Sold

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6m ago

May 03, 2024 / 8223 Views

Evan Walker

From the Sex Pistols to Wu-Tang Clan, these are some of the most expensive vinyl records ever sold.

Vinyl collecting is one of the most expensive hobbies one could have, and that’s even if you just buy standard-priced vinyls at record stores. The average price for one vinyl is around USD 30, and we haven’t even begun talking about record players. An average vinyl corrector is already investing a pretty significant amount of their money, but these following albums are something else. Serious collectors have copped these albums for exorbitant amounts, but there are good reasons why they’re so expensive. Here are six of the most expensive vinyl records ever sold.

Some of the most expensive vinyl records ever sold

***God Save the Queen*, Sex Pistols – USD 20,000**

Released in 1977 just before Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee, this single by the English punk rock band was so controversial that record stores refused to sell it. Of course, that only meant its value skyrocketed. The most valuable copies of the album bear the A&M logo, which was the label the band was under. In 2006, a collector sold a copy of the album still within an A&M envelope for upwards of USD 20,000. It’s rumoured that only nine of those are left in the world.

***The Black Album*, Prince – USD 42,000**

This album has an interesting story, though that isn’t surprising at all since it’s Prince. This was the legendary artist’s 16th studio album. True to his Mysterious nature, the album’s promo release was simply in a black sleeve with no art or text, and the vinyl itself only bore a track listing and catalogue number. There were no credits on the album whatsoever—not even to Prince. Just prior to its intended release, Prince decided to stop the release after being convinced the album was “evil”, thus cementing its high demand. In 2017, five copies were found in Canada and sold for the above price.

***Double Fantasy*, John Lennon and Yoko Ono – USD 150,000**

This was the fifth studio album by Lennon and Ono—and sadly, their last. It’s the last album that featured Lennon before his death. The album itself was a comeback of sorts as Lennon had taken a five-year hiatus, but unfortunately, was met with negative reviews when initially released. It would go on to later win the Grammy Album of the Year in 1981.

The album isn’t rare. It’s easy to find on streaming platforms and record stores. But it’s a specific copy of the vinyl that sold for the above price: a copy signed by both Lennon and Ono and given to Mark Chapman, Lennon’s assassin, just hours before he killed the Beatle.

***My Happiness*, Elvis Presley – USD 300,000**

In 1953, a then-unknown 18-year-old Elvis Presley went to Memphis Recording Service and recorded a song called “My Happiness”, a 1948 pop music standard. The single wasn’t actually a single at all. Presley gave it to a friend as a gift and was since lost. But in 2015, an Oregon collector put it up for auction and it was sold… to none other than The White Stripes’ Jack White.

***The Beatles (White Album)*, The Beatles – USD 790,000**

The iconic White Album isn’t rare. It’s one of the most well-known albums of the English band not just because of its minimalist design and that it’s the band’s only double album, but it also marked the end of The Beatles. It was during the recording of this album that tensions grew between the members and eventually resulted in them breaking up. However, there are a few versions of the album out there that collectors vie for. The most expensive one is a double LP with a unique serial number stamped on the front: “0000001”.

***Once Upon a Time in Shaolin*, Wu-Tang Clan – USD 4 million**

Certified in 2015 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most valuable album in the world, this album was recorded over six years by the American hip-hop group—and there’s no other copy of the album in existence. Feeling that the value of music had dwindled thanks to streaming and piracy, the group had the album encased in an ornately designed jewel-encrusted box. It was later bought at an auction by the then-CEO and now-criminal Martin Shkreli. When Shkreli was imprisoned, the US Department of Justice got hold of the album and sold it for USD 4 million.

If you think there’s got to be a digital copy floating around on the internet somewhere, you’d be disappointed. There’s a legal agreement that the album can’t be released commercially until 2103. As such, the only way to listen to it is to actually own it or be lucky enough to attend a listening party that the owner hosts, if they ever choose to do that.