If You Have These Vinyl Albums, You Could Make Big Bucks
If you have some classic vinyl albums sitting around, you could have some big bucks coming your way – Author: Cat Badra, Photo: The Beatles, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club”
If you have some classic vinyl albums sitting around, you could have some big bucks coming your way. While some of the most valuable vinyl albums of all time have garnered millions on the auction market, even if you don’t have one of those mega releases, you could have some very valuable vinyl albums in your collection. So, it’s time to look through your dusty vinyl collection and see if you have any super valuable items that could be worth selling.
The Most Expensive Vinyl Records of All Time
According to Money Digest, the rarest vinyl record of all time snagged $4 million. As the story goes, in 2015, rappers Wu-Tang Clan released one copy of their album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” in a special metal box. There was no other way to purchase, download or listen to the music contained in the box other than purchasing this record. The band asked for $2 million and got it.
The buyer was actually “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, known for making a lot of dough from raising the price of critical drugs to treat cancer and AIDS. The U.S. Department of Justice confiscated “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” in 2018 after Shkreli’s conviction for some financial practices. The agency sold the record in 2021 for $4 million. That’s so wild.
Bands and Musicians With the Most Valuable Vinyl Records
Even if you don’t have an album worth $4 million, you could have some diamonds in the rough. Some bands and musicians tend to draw more money for their releases than other artists, and it’s no surprise which ones are on top.
The Beatles have some of the most valuable vinyl albums out there. The Beatles’ famed LP, “The Beatles (White Album),” drew $790,000. Drummer Ringo Starr owned the first printing of this record from 1968, and it has a print number of “0000001.” It sold at auction in the United States for $790,000.
Other Beatles albums are also valuable. Also, Beatles-related records can be valuable. For example, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s final album together, “Double Fantasy,” which was released one month before Lennon’s tragic assassination in December 1980, is very valuable. There aren’t many copies of those available, so they’re all valuable, but some of them are signed by Lennon, which makes them even more valuable.
Also, if you happen to have any Beatles albums with autographs from any of the band members, but especially all four, you’re golden. One coy of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club” garnered $290,000 in 2013. Even without autographs, rare Beatles albums have been known to get tens of thousands of dollars on the market.
Aside from the Beatles, Elvis vinyl is also a major seller. In 2015, musician Jack White bought a copy of Elvis Presley, “My Happiness,” for a pretty $300,000. Even if you don’t have that vinyl album, many Elvis albums are still worth anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. According to Value Your Music, at least 50 different Elvis vinyl records are worth hundreds or thousands.
So, when it comes to vinyl albums that are worth the most, you can’t go wrong if you find any Beatles, Beatles-related or Elvis records in your collection.
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