If You Own One of These Vinyl Records, You Could Be a Millionaire

Elvis is considered to be one of the most influential and successful musicians of all time. Dubbed ‘the king of rock and roll,’ Presley dominated the music scene throughout the 1950s. As it turns out, one of his most valuable records is not his own song.

In 1953, Elvis covered Jon and Sondra Steele’s “My Happiness” and gave the pressed copy to his childhood friend Ed Leek. In 2015, Jack White, the lead singer of The White Stripes, bought it for $300,000. His record company re-released the record, and although you won’t get as much money for it, it would surely sell for a lot.

Frank Wilson was a record producer for Motown Records and produced/wrote some major hits in his time. Wilson tried his hand at recording music himself, and his one song is now a crazy expensive record.

Wilson recorded ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) in 1965. It’s suggested that 250 were pressed, but he never released them to focus on his producing career. Two copies slipped through the cracks, and one ended up selling for £25,000 in May 2009.

The Rolling Stones were always known as a rebellious and political group of men who were not afraid to share their rock and roll opinions on political and societal issues. As an act of rebellion, the band’s record company produced copies of their single ‘Street Fighting Man’ with controversial police images from riots.

Shortly after, another riot occurred, and the record company asked for all copies of the unreleased record to be destroyed. However, eighteen copies managed to leak into the world. In 2011, an auction sold a copy for $17,000. If you’re one of the other seventeen owners, you’re in luck.

Prince is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of his generation and arguably of all time. However, he was often accused of being too obsessed with pop music and alienating his black audience. In an attempt to regain their interest, he recorded this album as a response.

Eventually, his team dubbed the move too controversial, and the project was pulled. Warner Bros. had to recall over half a million copies. It was a little too late, though, as promo copies had already been sent out. The vinyl can sell for up to $42,000, but regular CD versions have since been officially released by Prince’s team.

Is it any surprise that David Bowie’s work is on this list? If there’s one thing we love about David Bowie, it’s how bold and unapologetic he was. The first few copies of Diamond Dogs’ cover art featured dogs’ private parts, but they were never sold.

However, employees at the record company kept their copies featuring the original explicit cover art. In 2003, a copy sold for $3,550 on eBay. Since Bowie passed away in 2016, it’s suspected these exclusive copies could be worth way more.

This hip-hop collective group made a massive wave in the music industry, successfully expressing African American struggles by using humor. Now, it’s unlikely you’d have this in your collection, considering there was only ever one copy, but what it sold for makes it worth mentioning.

In 2014, Wu-Tang Clan released one copy of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which was soon auctioned off. Martin Shkreli, a pharmaceutical CEO, paid an insane $2 million for this rare collector’s item. He ended up reselling the album on eBay for a comparatively low few thousand bucks.

Despite their short-lived career as a group, The Five Sharps were incredibly successful with their song “Stormy Weather”. The record release of the song, however, was shambles. All but one copy was cracked (a nightmare for record-lovers).

One man got his hands on the only uncracked copy of the record in 1977. He was offered $25,000 for the record and declined. Perhaps he knew he could get more for this rare item one day. Only time will tell.

Junior McCants had a unique voice and a passion for soul music. Unfortunately, McCants passed away from a brain tumor at just 24 years old. Prior to his death, he only released four songs in his career. McCants died just before this record was set to be released.

His record company withdrew the release, but, as a running theme, a few copies slipped through the cracks. Today, these are coveted items by avid record collectors. Experts suspect that they would be worth anywhere between $7,500 and $15,000.

The doo-wop era was truly at its peak in the 1940s among black youth across America, with Billy Ward & His Dominoes making huge waves in the genre. In the 1950s, pressing records on 45″ was the norm, so a 10″ record was rare.

The group released their self-titled LP featuring a wide selection of their biggest hits to celebrate their earlier music, including “Sixty Minute Man”. A copy, in perfect condition over 40 years later, was sold for $24,200 in 1999.

Here we go, another Elvis release breaking records. This record would certainly be a valuable item to have in your collection. However, there’s just one copy of this single-sided record, and it was owned by Elvis himself.

It was originally recorded for the motion soundtrack for Elvis’ movie of the same name. Although it was later released as part of an album, it’s estimated that the single record would be worth around $25,000 if it were ever sold.

Hunky Dory is David Bowie’s fourth studio album, featuring massive hits such as “Changes” and “Life on Mars”. Time magazine actually named this album in the ‘100 Best Albums of All Time,’ marking its ever-lasting legend status.

A selection of acetate copies of this record was released, and who would’ve guessed that it would be worth a lot over 40 years later? In 2016, somebody bid $25,000 at auction for this rare copy. Though the offer never went through, it’s worth checking if you have this in your collection.

Jean-Michel Jarre is a legendary name in the music industry, making groundbreaking moves to revolutionize new-age genres. This track, titled “Musique pour Supermarché” in French, was originally recorded for an art exhibition, and just one copy was auctioned off in 1983.

Jarre himself was genuinely shocked about how much this record ended up selling for, and he couldn’t believe how industrialized the music industry was becoming. So, what was the price? Well, someone bought the record at the auction for roughly $70,000.

Let’s start with the first of many of The Beatles’ pieces of work in this valuable list. Till There Was You is considered to be the record that launched the band’s career, skyrocketing them into their decades of success.

Over 50 years later, in 2016, a man stumbled across this record in his collection and was curious to see what it would sell for. A collector ended up buying the record for around $98,000. It’s suspected it was valued so high because of a typo on the print, saying ‘Hullo’ instead of ‘Hello.

Ted Nugent’s music made a significant impact on the rock and roll genre, releasing music as a solo artist as well as in various groups — such as Damn Yankees, Damnocracy, and The Amboy Dukes. In 1977, he released his third studio album, Cat Scratch Fever.

While it may not be worth as much as other vinyl records on this list, some copies of Cat Scratch Fever can sell for anywhere between $30 and $100. That’s still more than you would’ve paid for it in the ’70s.

Oh, the beloved Olivia Newton-John — we’re so glad her work made it to this list. If you have a copy of the Xanadu soundtrack that Olivia sang on, you could be sitting on a lot of money. There are only 31 copies worldwide.

If you happen to have one of these in your collection, you could get up to $8,850 for the record. But why were so few copies made? Well, when Olivia saw the picture on the front, she hated it so much that she demanded that they stop being made.

This record is certainly the holy grail for any Led Zeppelin fan. The 2008 Classic Records compilation titled Led Zeppelin has 750 copies in circulation, which is quite low in comparison to what the demand would have been.

Up until 2018, this record was Discogs’ highest-value record, selling for just over $4,800. Now, their most valuable albums include Choose Your Weapon by Scaramanga Silk, Prince’s The Black Album, and The Beatles’ Love Me Do.

The Caine Mutiny is a groundbreaking film from the 1950s that’s all about the military and the implications of mental instability. The film was nominated for 13 awards, but its soundtrack was the record-breaker.

One side of the album played the score, while the other played various dialogues from the film. However, the author of the book the film is based on found that the album infringed on intellectual property, so only around 25 copies came out, now selling for around $6,700.

We all recognize Andy Warhol’s art from The Rolling Stones’ and The Velvet Undergound’s albums. However, long before his work with them, Warhol did some album art for jazz and classic compositions. Waltzes by Johann Strauss, Jr. was one of them.

Only seven copies of this album are thought to exist. One can be found in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and another was sold on eBay for $5,500 in 2012.

In 1968, The Beatles released a self-titled album, the ninth in their discography, which was later called White Album. Band and studio members were all given their own copy of the record, branded by A00000, and then a number.

One studio member at Let It Be Records, Clifford Yamasaki, still had his copy in 2013 — which was coincidentally the first pressing of the record. He decided to sell it and got $35,000 for it. Another copy was sold in 2014 for $13,750. Although very few of these versions exist, it’s worth checking your copy.

In 1963, Bob Dylan set out to release his second studio album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. As is the way with creative projects, we change our minds a lot. Dylan ended up making some changes to a few tracks. At the time of release, the record reverted to its original tracklist.

Some copies with the changed tracks were eventually released, and one was eventually sold for $35,000. Think you’ve got this version? If it has matrix numbers ending in 1A on both sides and plays the songs “Rocks and Gravel”, “Let Me Die in My Footsteps”, “Gamblin’ Willie’s Dead Man’s Hand”, and “Talkin’ John Birch Blues”, you’re in luck.

It seems marketing tactics were behind this valuable record. Before Springsteen released his fourth album, Darkness on the Edge, he released an LP to build up some hype. This album had 100 copies pressed and was only sold in Japan.

These days, this rare copy of Last American Hero From Asbury Park N.J., can sell for around $4,200. Weirdly, it wasn’t a new album at all. It seems to only include songs from his first three albums. Nonetheless, that’s some bang for your buck.

You may be thinking, who are The Quarrymen? Well, before The Beatles and before they met, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison played together in a band called The Quarrymen. Together, they made some amateur recordings in the 1950s.

At first, only one copy existed, just for the trio to cherish. However, Paul ended up buying it and went on to release 50 more copies. They were given away as gifts to friends and family but have since been sold for anywhere between $13,000 to $260,000.

Oh, The Velvet Underground, the legends that you are. It’s no surprise that one of their records made their way onto this list. The rock band released countless albums in their time, but little did one man at a flea market know what he would get for a 75-cent purchase.

The record was of the band’s debut album, but it was a rare copy with Andy Warhol art–that now iconic banana piece. In fact, the only other owner of this copy is the band’s drummer, Moe Tucker. The man’s copy sold for $25,000 — what a profit.

Aphex Twin’s career truly thrived when DJing became increasingly popular in the 80s and 90s. However, before Richard James became Aphex Twin, he released some EDM music under the name Caustic Window. As Aphex Twin evolved, he always planned to release this music.

However, the time never felt right. Four copies were pressed, just in case, and some lucky people got ahold of them. In fact, one buyer was the creator of Minecraft, Markus Persson. In 2014, he found a copy on eBay and bought it for $46,300.

This legendary saxophonist and composer made some huge waves in the jazz genre throughout the ’50s and ’60s. Hank Mobley’s record had anywhere between 300 and 1,000 copies of this vinyl pressed. However, a select few had something unique about them.

It’s said that the record label ran out of stickers towards the end of pressing, so a few copies have the wrong address printed. If your copy says 47 West 63rd, New York 23, you could get anywhere up to $10,000 on eBay.

This Madonna album is one of the most recent albums in this list, with a ridiculously hilarious rare album cover. The standard edition of Erotica has a close-up image of Madonna on the cover. Initially, they shot a cover where Madonna was sucking on Naomi Campell’s big toe.

Around the time of pressing, another celebrity got into a foot-related scandal, and Madonna and her team didn’t want to be involved. They changed the album cover art, but at least 100 copies of the original are still out there. If you’re one of the 100 owners, you could get up to $4,000.

Depeche Mode were a little ahead of their time, perhaps paving the way for the success of electronic music — which only started to blow up in the ’90s. In 1997, the band released their sixth album, Music for the Masses, originally with an orange and white cover.

The band changed their mind about the cover and changed it, but a few fans had already bought the original version. It gets better–a few years later, more copies were accidentally sent to a record store. The record could sell for up to $4,600.

Nirvana is so undeniably huge that pretty much everyone will have at least one of their records in their collection. Well, perhaps you’re one of the lucky ones who owns this pressing of Bleach (1989).

Nirvana’s record copy only pressed 500 copies of this red and white marble edition, which could now sell for over $1,000. However, some plain white vinyls were also printed first, and these could sell for more than $2,500.

The Beatles have an impressively large discography, with twelve studio albums and 53 music videos. So, let’s take ourselves back to 1963, when the group released their debut album, Please Please Me.

Their record label produced this vinyl in a rush, originally featuring gold and white typography on the sticker. Depending on if you have the mono or the stereo version, you could get between $100 to $4,200 for this copy.

Tommy Johnson was a hugely successful Blues artist in the 1920s and ’30s. He was notably recognized for his impressive guitar skills and eerie falsetto range. Johnson released a handful of music during this time, including the album Alcohol and Jake Blues.

Back in the day, there was a record label called Paramount. They shut down five years after the release of this record, meaning that, in fact, every record Paramount ever released was destroyed. That made Alcohol and Jake Blues extremely rare, with someone selling their copy for #37,000 in 2013.

Bruce Springsteen’s career spans over six decades, with over 400 recorded songs in his repertoire. One of Springsteen’s first-ever singles was Spirit in the Night, released in 1973. The record label released a limited edition with an orange and red gradient pattern.

If you happen to own this limited pattern, you could be in for a significant bit of money. Some copies of this record have sold for upwards of $5,000 in mint condition. What a great day to be a Bruce Springsteen fan.

Looking at this cover art, it’s totally not what you would expect to see from a band that generally projected quite a clean-cut image. But hey, it’s pretty rock and roll. At the time of release, fans really hated the cover, and it was eventually changed.

A few copies of this version were purchased, and now they’re pretty rare to have in your collection. Used versions have been sold for around $15,000, but if your copy is still sealed, you could get $30,000.

Straight off the bat, the fact that there’s only one copy of this 78 rpm record in existence already makes it insanely valuable. In 1927, Long Cleve Reed and Little Harvey Hill recorded this single, and it’s now a super valuable item.

This record is the oldest one on this list, proving that there’s some great value in old age. Joe Broussard, a famous record collector, has it in his collection and was offered $70,000, but he declined the offer.

Out of a catalog of over 200 songs, we’re casting ourselves back to the start of The Beatles’ career with Love Me Do (1962). The single was pressed on a one-sided acetate record, and there’s just one copy in circulation.

It’s reported that the person who bought this copy of the record paid around $100,000 to have it in their collection. The rare record can be identified by a count-in from one of the band members at the start of the track.

All it would take to have heard of The White Stripes would be to turn a radio on in the late 1990s and early 2000s — they were everywhere. A few years before their hit song “Seven Nation Army” (2003), the duo released a single called “Lafayette Blues”.

In a colossal mix-up, the records weren’t ready for the duo’s release day show, so they ended up hand-painting some copies to sell for just $6 apiece. Little did they know that in 2004, a copy would sell for $2,700. Then, in 2010, one sold for $18,000.

Long before David’s days in the pop duo Eurythmics alongside Annie Lennox, he recorded some songs in his childhood that, unbeknownst to him, would become insanely valuable records. At 12 years old, he made something worth an enormous amount of money.

The Daily Mirror reported that the copy would now be worth just over $38,000. There’s definitely a lot of value in the work that huge stars produced as children. For example, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder started making huge waves as children, too.

Pink Floyd gained a huge following in the 1960s and 1970s and is still, to this day, considered one of the most successful bands in history. With decades of smash hits under their belts, we’ll be casting back to their humble beginnings with this one.

The two songs on this record were recorded when the band was still called The Tea Set in the early 60s. Only 100 copies were pressed, and it’s now very valuable. If you own it, you could get up to $30,000. It pays to be an original fan of artists, huh?

Just two years before The Beatles officially broke up, John Lennon released an album together titled Wedding Album. This experimental album was recorded between 1968 and 1969, playing around with heartbeats, spoken word, and more.

It’s alleged that there’s only one acetate copy of this record, released by LP Records, in the world. It was proposed to be sold on a vinyl record-selling website for roughly $25,000. The album can be bought on standard vinyl, CD, or streaming services for a standard price today.

U2 is one of the biggest rock bands to come out of Ireland, with hit songs such as With or Without You, Beautiful Day, and, of course, All I Want Is You. A 12-inch Australian edition of this album was printed in green, with only three copies seemingly made.

One confirmed copy has been found in record collector’s circulations. In 2010, this rare edition of All I Want Is You sold for an insane $10,000. If you’re one of the secret other two owners, you’re in for some big money.

A few years before Judy Garland’s biggest movie, The Wizard of Oz (1939), she and her sisters recorded a few test albums under the group name The Gumm Sisters. Although the acetate record was never officially released, some records fell into the world.

Judy Garland kept these in her personal collection for a long time before giving them away. In 2006, two copies went to auction, and someone bid $22,500 for the pair. The offer never went through, so these valuable records must still be in demand. What a crazy amount of money to offer for these records, but it makes sense.