Top 20 Most Valuable Vinyl LPs
A list of the Top 20 Most Valuable LPs from my record collection. The order is based on Discogs’ “Median” valuation as of January 2026.
Top 20 Most Valuable Vinyl LPs: No.’s 20 - 11
Recently a Dublin record shop advertised a 1972 UK pressing of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust for sale at €44.95 (pictured below). Discogs have a “Median” valuation of €65 on a ‘72 UK Ziggy. A damaged sleeve, as in the photograph, would ALWAYS be considered a “Poor” condition grade and there is no way it can honestly be priced at €45. It did get me thinking about valuations and the crazy prices being paid for vinyl in the last few years. It also got me thinking about valuable records in my own collection.
Discogs’ “Low”, “Median” and “High” valuations are based on the 30 most recent sales for a specific item in the Marketplace. The “Median” is the middle number in the dataset. If there are 30 sales, the “Median” is the average of the 15th and 16th highest prices. The “Median” is usually the most accurate indicator of a record’s worth as “High” valuations can overstate a record’s, or collection’s, worth.
Fourteen of the records on this list were originally released in the 1990s, five were released in the 2000s and one comes from the 1980s. The high valuations are explained by the prevalence of CD sales and fewer vinyl LPs being pressed by record companies in the 90s and 00s.
The 2025 Oasis comeback must surely account for the band appearing twice in the list. Morrissey appears six times in the list. I’ve written previously (Morrissey - Bootlegs) about my love of The Smiths and I was fully onboard with his solo years. But as I mentioned in that blog I find it hard to listen to Moz anymore. Nevertheless his fanbase is extremely loyal and I suppose that fact, along with the recent vinyl revival, explains the huge demand for his records.
When Morrissey signed to Sanctuary Records in 2003 the label resurrected the Attack Records label - a Trojan Records’ sub label from the 1970s - to release his music. The three Attack vinyl releases were limited enough at the time of release and have proved hugely collectable over the years, hence the huge valuations.
If I take the Morrissey vinyl out of the list the next six most valuable LPs are: Barafundle by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, The Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave, Dummy by Portishead, The Ideal Crash by Deus, Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows by Spectrum and Violator by Depeche Mode. Again, all 90s original pressings in VG+/VG+ condition.
Seventeen of the records in this list were bought new at the time of release. One was bought online, one was bought at a record fair and one was picked up at a record stall in a flea market.
I love a list, this is supposed to be a bit of fun, but I also find it really interesting to see what records have skyrocketed in value.
20. Acetone
Cindy
(Vernon Yard/Hut Recordings, 1993)
€137.00
An original of the LA band’s debut album is still hugely sought after despite New West’s 2xLP reissue in 2023. The band’s Richie Lee (bass guitar, vocals) took his own life in 2001, aged just 34. “A band that at their best can match Big Star, Yo La Tengo, Low and other outfits whose legacies feel enshrined in the history of alternative music,” wrote Daniel Dylan Wray in Uncut magazine about the band’s I’m Still Waiting boxset. He continued, “Perhaps now Acetone can finally join them.” Cindy is a great album.
3 of the bands on this list toured together in Dec 1993. NME scan from Nothingelseon.
19. Morrissey
Maladjusted
(Mercury, 1997)
€139.00
The first of six appearances of Morrissey in my list. His last album of the 1990s and the third of three albums in a row that were produced by Steve Lillywhite. Maladjusted was maligned upon release and it would be seven years before Morrissey’s next album, You Are the Quarry. Two singles were released from Maladjusted - ‘Roy’s Keen’ and ‘Satan Rejected My Soul’ - and the 12”s of both are also worth a fortune. I never liked the cover of Maladjusted and even though I hate when artists tamper with artwork for reissues I reckon Morrissey got it right for the 2009 Polydor/Universal release.
18. The Verve
A Northern Soul
(Hut Recordings, 1995)
€140.00
It’s hard to take a nice photo of the mirror sleeve. This 2xLP Black Vinyl first edition is actually in VG+/VG+ condition. A real favourite of mine, I think it’s the band’s masterpiece. A glorious album from start to finish. I worked at Féile 1995 in Cork and I still recall the reaction of fans (most of whom seemed to be from Northern Ireland) in the campsite when news broke that The Verve had cancelled their Leeside appearance. People were genuinely devastated.
17. Nirvana
MTV Unplugged in New York
(Geffen Records, 1994)
€144.00
The first of two Nirvana appearances on my list (Nevermind doesn’t make this list - it’s not worth as much, presumably because it sold a hell of a lot more copies). This is the white vinyl version of MTV Unplugged in New York. Two of my favourite moments on the record are the cover versions of The Vaselines’ ‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam’ and Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’. The mohair jumper worn by Cobain on the MTV performance was actually owned by the Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant and had been pinched by Courtney Love during her stay in Liverpool in the early 80s. Sergeant tells the story here.
16. Massive Attack
Mezzanine
(Circa/Virgin, 1998)
€147.00
Protection is probably my favourite Massive attack album but Mezzanine (2xLP Black Vinyl) appeared four years later and was presumably pressed in fewer numbers. Its scarcity fuelling its high value. Mezzanine contains the incredible ‘Teardrop’ with Elizabeth Fraser on vocals.
15. Michael O’Shea
Michael O’Shea
(Dome, 1982)
€156.00
I picked up my copy of Michael O’Shea’s self-titled album for around €40 online in 2017 when I was researching his life. All that has happened since AllChival’s reissues is that the value of O’Shea’s album has gone up and up. My documentary No Journeys End - the story of Michael O’Shea tells O’Shea’s incredible story.
14. Various Artists
Lost in Translation (OST)
(Emperor Norton, 2004)
€160.00
I picked this up at a record fair in the late 00s for around €20. I think I did well. I assume it’s the Kevin Shields music on the record that has resulted in its value rising year on year since. Twenty plus years later, the soundtrack stands up far better than the movie.
13. Nirvana
In Utero
(Geffen Records, 1993)
€162.00
My favourite Nirvana album. Probably the best record of the whole grunge era. I’ve written previously (Sonic Youth and Nirvana - Sir Henrys 1991) about Nirvana and their infamous 1991 gig in Sir Henry’s.
12. My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
(Creation Records, 1991)
€167.00
Bought the year of release. Adverts in the music press at the time declared: “They invented it. All you have to do is listen to it.” “We’ve still listening to it,” I wrote in my November 2025 review of the band’s Dublin gig for the Irish Examiner. I continued, “And judging by the huge cohort of young people at last night’s 3Arena gig a sizeable portion of the band’s fanbase weren’t even born when the record was released. The streaming algorithms that push dream-pop playlists have sent millennials back to find the origin of the species. Amen.”
11. The Sundays
Blind
(Parlophone, 1992)
€168.00
I’ve written before (David Ackles - American Gothic) about the bargains I used to find for a few years (roughly between 2011-2014) at the weekend Dublin Flea outdoor market at Newmarket Square off Cork Street in Dublin 8. Well, I found this beauty in a €5 crate. The sleeve has a few marks around the edges but the vinyl and inner are minty clean. The second Sundays’ album for a fiver - a bargain.
Top 20 Most Valuable Vinyl LPs: No.’s 10 - 1
10. Morrissey
Beethoven Was Deaf
(His Master’s Voice, 1993)
€170.00
The first of two Moz live albums on this list. Beethoven Was Deaf was recorded in London and Paris on 20 and 22 of December 1992 on the Your Arsenal tour. I had attended the Boston gig in Brandeis University a few months earlier and it was incredibly exciting to get an official live release of the tour.
NME scan from Nothingelseon
09. Morrissey
Ringleader of the Tormentors
(Attack, 2006)
€177.00
The second album for Sanctuary/Attack. This is the album that was produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in Rome. Ennio Morricone arranged strings for ‘Dear God Please Help Me’. A lavish design and one of my favourite Moz albums.
08. The The
Dusk
(Epic, 1993)
€198.00
The fourth album (not counting 1981’s Burning Blue Soul) from The The. Dusk followed Soul Mining (1983), Infected (1986) and Mind Bomb (1989). I return to these records regularly and could never pick a favourite. I bought Dusk and its singles (‘Dogs of Lust’, ‘Love is Stranger Than Death’ and ‘Slow Emotional Replay’) in Comet Records in Cork (most of this list was purchased in Comet). I had worked my way back and purchased the first three albums after their release. Dusk was the first The The album I purchased upon its release. I can still recall being really excited walking out of Comet with my LP.
NME scan from Nothingelseon
07. The God Machine
Scenes From the Second Storey
(Fiction, 1993)
€230.00
The God Machine are the least familiar name on this list. The debut album from the San Diego band is a dark, brooding, claustrophobic 78 minute record pressed across two LPs. Its dense, noisy and powerfully emotional. Bass player Jimmy Fernandez passed away in 1994 after suffering a brain tumour. The band’s second album One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying (another phenomenal record) came out a few months later and the band called it a day.
“It’s almost incidental that Scenes From the Second Storey is such a great, emotionally enervating debut album,” wrote Everett True in his Melody Maker review. He continued, “Almost incidental, because there has always been such a finality about The God Machine’s movements and nearly-orchestrated-in-their-sweep-of-sound arrangements that it would have come as a major surprise if Scenes had been anything but.”
In a September 1994 interview with Melody Maker, after Fernandez’s passing, Robin Proper-Sheppard (guitar/vocals) said, “There’s no imaginable way to continue. It’s like trying to replace a best friend rather than replace a bass player.”
Scenes From the Second Storey was reissued in 2025. An underground classic waiting to be rediscovered.
06. Oasis
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
(Creation Records, 1995)
€231.00
The second Oasis album. Everytime I walk down London’s Berwick Street on my way to visit Reckless Records I do a little Liam swagger in honour of this cover photograph. I’ve written previously (Oasis - Knebworth setlist) about how Noel’s Knebworth setlist ended up in my possession.
Photograph by Paul McDermott
05. Hope Sandoval & the Warm inventions
Bavarian Fruit Bread
(Rough Trade, 2001)
€250.00
Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star and Colm Ó Cíosóig of My Bloody Valentine team up for Bavarian Fruit Bread. I file my records alphabetically, if I chose to file them by mood then I would without hesitation put this record alongside albums by Talk Talk, The Blue Nile, Dakota Suite, and Midnight Choir.
04. Oasis
Definitely Maybe
(Creation Records, 1994)
€254.00
2024 reissues will set you back about €80 but an original Creation Records 2xLP pressing of Oasis’ debut goes for over €250. I haven’t played this in over 25 years. I loved it when it came out and also bought the first half-dozen singles as they were released. I had no interest in seeing them live in 2025 but the dynamic ticket pricing was insane and soured the whole thing for me.
03. Morrissey
Southpaw Grammar
(RCA Victor, 1995)
€255.00
The hype sticker states “Includes Limited Edition Booklet”. The 8-page booklet is 12 x 12” and printed on card. On its original release Southpaw Grammar divided opinions (mine too). But its probably one of my favourite Moz LPs of the 90s. It featured boxer Kenny Lane on the cover (the first Moz LP to not feature his own mug) and ‘The Boy Racer’ and ‘Dagenham Dave’ were released as singles. Everett True in Melody Maker wrote: “Neither his best, nor worst. Flashes of the odd Mozzer brilliance, flashes of the old irritating, unedited Mozzer.”
David Quantick in the NME was less unequivocal: “There’s no reason why anyone who already owns a record made by Morrissey - or, more particularly, The Smiths - should even want to hear this record, let alone buy it.” It’s the third most sought after Morrissey album on vinyl.
Melody Maker scan from Nothingelseon
02. Morrissey
You Are the Quarry
(Attack, 2004)
€295.00
There’s a simple reason why the You Are trhe Quarry makes No. 2 on this list - it was a numbered limited vinyl pressing of 5,000 copies (mine is No. 3046). You Are the Quarry was released in a gatefold sleeve with a yellow inner sleeve. This was the comeback, his first album sine 1997’s Maladjusted. It gave us two brilliant singles - ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ and ‘First of the Gang To Die’ - and two OK-ish singles - ‘I Have Forgiven Jesus’ and ‘Let Me Kiss You’.
01. Morrissey
Live at Earls Court
(Attack, 2006)
€350.00
And coming in at No. 1 the second live Morrissey album on this list. The CD came out in 2005 but the double LP followed a year later. The back sleeve says: “Recorded live at Earls Court in London on the 18th of December 2004 in front of 17,183 people”. It’s got a number of typographical errors in the tracklisting but otherwise a beautiful package.
“sonic_rendezvous”, in a comment under this record’s entry on Discogs writes, “This record now costs more than it cost me to fly to London and attend the show.” That’s a great observation about the crazily inflated prices people are willing to pay for vinyl in 2026.
The value of the records on this list total to almost €4,000. However, I would without hesitation grade 17 of LPs as VG+/VG+ pushing that €4,000 total even higher. Insane.