Top 10 Rarest Records Ever Sold By Atlas Records

Unveiling the rarest records EVER sold by Atlas Records! This list features some well-known holy grails from the likes of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

Other, lesser-known highlights include early experimental electronic sounds from Basil Kirchin, and early pioneers of psychedelia and progressive rock from bands such as Andromeda and Gravy Train.

You can read our other top tens and a guide to protecting your records by exploring the rest of our blog.

Read on to discover our rarest albums ever sold by Atlas Records...

A very popular artist here at Atlas Records, Nick Drake's second studio album is our 7th rarest record ever sold. Released under the Island Records label, the 1971 first pressing can fetch some very high prices thanks to its rarity. The album reportedly only sold around 3,000 copies on release, so it is likely that the number remaining, and in decent condition, is somewhere below that.

Yet another unassuming punk 7"! This one too was limited to just 500 copies and dates from 1978, a year before the Amazing Space Frogs single featured in third place. There isn't much information to be found online about No Way, so here's a webpage from boredteenagers.co.uk with an entry by one of the band members, Paul Callan.

The rarest record we sold in May 2026, and the 8th rarest we've ever sold - The Return of the Durutti Column, released on Factory Records in 1980 in an industrial-grade sandpaper sleeve, deliberately designed to destroy the records stored next to it. An extraordinary piece of post-punk history, with around 2,000–3,600 sandpaper copies produced in total before Factory switched to a standard cardboard sleeve.

One of the most extraordinary entries ever to grace this list - and frankly, our warehouse - is this 39-LP Beatles collection released by DeAgostini. Housed across three hulking black storage boxes, the set was originally sold as a subscription series, with subscribers receiving one or two albums and a magazine written by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett every two weeks.

The result is a complete run of Beatles albums on vinyl, including all of the studio releases alongside key compilation albums and Past Masters, plus extra items such as backpacks, posters, slip mats and t-shirts.

Onto the very rarest record we sold in February 2025... This is a copy of "Andromeda" by Andromeda, an English psychedelic rock band from the late '60s. They didn't stick together for long, however, and split up in 1970, when John Du Cann left to join the more well-known Atomic Rooster.

This mono first pressing of Genesis' 'From Genesis To Revelation' has some subtle differences to its later counterparts, meaning it is a significantly more scarce release. Most noticeably, it has an indicator hole on the back of the sleeve, where a red inner sleeve can be seen, indicating that this is a mono release. There are also some label differences, with an unboxed 'Decca' logo, denoting an earlier pressing. 

It appears that sales of first presses of The Dark Side Of The Moon are like buses. You wait for one to sell and they all sell at once! Hence, back in October and November 2025, Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon made the top spot twice in a row. This copy came to us in a better condition than the copy we focused on in October, and usually, rarer records in better condition will be in higher demand, especially as this album has many quieter moments, highlighting any imperfections in the press. 

And at number one... something a little different! A little like the Beatles box set we featured last month, this is a physically enormous release, with the shipment we dispatched weighing in at over 8kg. The set was released in 2011, and this copy was still sealed. The leaflet on the box read "All eight albums by The Smiths remastered from the original tape sources and packaged together for the first time. This DELUXE EDITION includes the albums on CD and 12" vinyl, 25 x 7" singles, The Complete Picture DVD, a 12 page booklet, 8 art prints & a poster. Also included is a code to redeem the full catalogue as high quality MP3s. Numbered and limited to 4000 copies - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION!"

Onto the rarest record we sold in May 2025. Basil Kirchin was an innovator in the electronic jazz genre, who played with sound in a unique way. Sources of sound in his albums ranged from flamingos, to various amplified insects and birds. His music is often described as a 'collection of sound', as it sampled the real world, and was almost a study of how people and animals communicated. This makes his albums a unique addition to any collection.

And at number one - could it really have been anything other than one of the true holy grails of record collecting?

Here we have a copy of Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut album, featuring the iconic turquoise front cover text. Widely regarded as one of the most desirable variations of the record, this particular copy was also possibly the best condition example we’ve ever seen. Originally released in 1969, the album drew heavily from blues and folk influences of the time, including rearranged versions of songs such as Babe I'm Gonna Leave You by Anne Bredon and Dazed and Confused by Jake Holmes.

If you'd like to see more of the rare and unusual records that pass through Atlas Records, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. We post daily, sharing our latest rare finds, behind-the-scenes glimpses of how we do things here at Atlas Records, and lesser-known stories and fascinating facts about some of the most iconic albums in music history.

If you own, or are looking to purchase rare records, they should be kept in the best environment to prevent them from being damaged by the elements. We recommend using HDPE inner sleeves, and polythene outer sleeves, to best protect your collection. You can add them to your next order below.