How do you know if the boxes of records you have in your closet are worth any money? There are a number of factors that come into play when determining the value of a vinyl record. Oftentimes it has to do with rarity, but sometimes it’s just the fans. If a band or musician has millions of fans, anything that has to do with them will be valuable. Music lovers and vinyl collectors will pay top dollar for something they truly love. So how do you know if what’s playing on your turntables are rare and valuable?

If you own any stereo 45’s, you have something both rare and valuable. Early stereo recordings have an extremely high value, sometimes even ten times more than the corresponding mono releases. Between 1957 and 1970, only a few 45s were pressed in stereo. If you own any 45s pressed between those dates, you can definitely get top dollar for them. First pressed original releases of albums are also considered rare and valuable. Collectors will typically pay top dollar for any first pressed valuable album. These records are the first runs of albums that became extremely popular and were later pressed two, three, or four times. A collector or dealer will be able to tell if an album is a first press by the cover or the color of the label.

Fans can typically determine the value of vinyl records. They keep the prices high, with a list that many times even surprises the most experienced collector. Last year, the top collected records were The Beatles vinyl records, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan vinyl albums. Fans keep rare records by The Sex Pistols, Iron Maiden, Michael Jackson, and Joy Division selling. Just because your collection doesn’t have any oldies doesn’t mean it might be worth any less.

Lastly, remember that history or historical era of a record can also cause it to be valuable. For example, anything from the 1950’s, the early years of rock and roll, will be considered valuable. Early Detroit and Motown releases, girl groups from the 1960’s, and early 30’s and 40’s roots, now called Country music, are always valuable. Anything from a meaningful time period or which had a major impact on the face of music will be extremely valuable. Keep this in mind for records by newer artists such as U2 or Madonna. They may not seem to be as valuable now, but by holding on to them, you will definitely have something worth a lot of money in the future.

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