Which Vinyl Records Are Worth Something?

Vinyl records from sought-after genres like rock, alternative, and punk tend to be the most valuable, especially first pressings or limited editions from iconic artists like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Nirvana. Rare jazz, blues, and some country or soundtrack albums can also be valuable, but genres like classical, easy listening, and mass-produced records often hold little value unless they are exceptionally rare or in pristine condition.

The value of a vinyl record is highly influenced by its genre, with certain types of music commanding more collector interest than others. This is entirely based on supply and demand and trends and generational tastes will influence which records are of interest at any one time.

Rock and alternative are generally the most sought-after genres, with artists like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and The Smiths fetching high prices, especially for first pressings or limited editions. Subgenres like punk rock (Sex Pistols, Ramones), progressive rock (King Crimson, Yes), and psychedelic rock (Jefferson Airplane) are also valuable, particularly for rare pressings.

Jazz and blues records can be highly collectible, especially if they’re from iconic labels like Blue Note or Chess, or feature legendary artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Muddy Waters. Original pressings or rare editions are the most valuable in these genres.

On the other hand, country and classical music tend to be worth less because many records in these genres were mass-produced and remain in abundant supply with very few people looking to purchase them. While there are exceptions, like early pressings of records from Johnny Cash or rare Deutsche Gramophone classical releases, most records in these genres don’t fetch high prices unless they’re in exceptional condition or are rare editions.

Here at Atlas Records, we tend to end up giving many records from these genres away for free, as it is the only cost effective way to move them on.

Similarly, showtunes and soundtracks usually hold little value due to their widespread availability. However, niche genres like reggae, early hip-hop, and electronic music have growing collector markets, especially for rare or first pressings.

When we receive an enquiry about selling a record collection, our priority is to understand how many LPs are in the collection, as well as getting an understanding of the sorts of artists and genres that can be found in the collection.

For us, the easiest collection to say yes to is one that is full of progressive, classic, punk and new wave. Seeing mentions of artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, mean we’re quickly confident that we’re going to be able to make a decent offer for the collection, as long as the condition is decent.

If a collection is largely made up of genres like classical, easy listening and country, or if the condition is consistently poor (e.g., splits in the sleeves) then we’ll most likely turn the collection down, as there is unlikely to be be enough value to justify the purchase.

Surely there are some records from less popular genres that are in demand? Absolutely! There are plenty out there, but here are some highlights that we’ve seen over the years.

With a high Discogs sale price of £950, this 1961 release is certainly a rarity! When it comes to classical releases, these Decca ‘SXL’ albums are ones to keep an eye out for, as they have a reasonable chance of being sought after by collectors.

Examples of classical releases that are almost never of interest to buyers are ‘CFP’ (Classics For Pleasure) releases and ‘MFP’ (Music For Pleasure). MFP pressed many other genres too. Other than their version of Relics by Pink Floyd - and probably some others than are less frequently found amongst collections - MFP is a consistent indicator of very low value.

Classed as soundtrack as well as easy listening, this LP features the soundtrack to James Bond “You Only Live Twice.” With the iconic film featuring Sean Connery, this is an album that has retained a reasonable amount of demand and salability since its release in 1967.

While easy listening records consistently have almost zero demand these days, there are many older soundtrack albums which remain of interest. Highlights include “The Shining” released in 1980 and “The Phantom Of The Opera” (1988) which is one we see many, many copies of.

Meanwhile, easy listening is a genre where finding a rarity is a greater challenge! Major easy listening artists that we come across include Perry Como, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Percy Faith and Matt Monro. Have you ever come across a highly sought after easy listening record? Let us know in the comments at the end of this post.

With a reasonably large and growing following, there are a decent number of collectable country and western releases out there. A highlight for us was a Near Mint copy of “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. Being possibly the most widely known country single, it is no surprise that this album is one that remains in popular demand.

Our copy was also notable because it was the UK orange label version, which is the first UK press of this album, with later reissues coming with a black or green label.

It’s nice to see a 7” single make this list! This is a seldom seen rare comedy record, featuring Morecambe & Wise covering “Bring Me Sunshine.” The single was released in 1969 and generally sells at around £30-£50. There is an even rarer promo version of this single. The rarity of this release could be down to a variety of factors, and probably a combination of all of them –

• Not many copies were pressed at the time
• People who have a copy don’t want to sell it
• Demand is currently higher due to a cultural change or trend

A great example of a cultural change making an older release more popular again was when “Stranger Things” featured “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush in 2022. It caused the song to go viral, and the vinyl world also saw a huge surge in demand for copies of the single.