🎵 The 10 Rarest and Most Wanted Vinyl Records: If You Own One, You Could Be Sitting on a Fortune

If you happen to have one of these records at home — maybe inherited, forgotten in an attic, or bought years ago at a flea market — you might be holding a piece a collector would pay a fortune for.

Here’s the list of 10 extremely sought-after records, with their estimated value and tips on how to recognize them.

1. The Beatles – Yesterday & Today (Butcher Cover)

Why it’s valuable: The infamous “butcher cover” showed the Beatles in blood-stained butcher coats with decapitated dolls. It was pulled from the market almost immediately.
Estimated value: €13,600 – €22,700 (more if signed by Ringo Starr).
How to identify: The first edition without any alterations is the most coveted.

 

 

2. Velvet Underground & Nico – 1st USA pressing

Why it’s valuable: Andy Warhol cover art with the banana sticker intact.
Estimated value: €1,360 – €3,180.
How to identify: Original 1967 pressing with the banana sticker unpeeled.

 

 

3. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I (UK turquoise lettering)

Why it’s valuable: The very first UK pressing featured the title in turquoise before it was changed to red.
Estimated value: €1,360 – €1,820.
How to identify: The turquoise title lettering is the key detail.

 

 

4. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II (Bob Ludwig Hot Stamper)

Why it’s valuable: US pressing mastered by Bob Ludwig with such powerful sound it made cheap turntables skip.
Estimated value: €455 – €1,820.
How to identify: Look for the initials “RL” etched in the runout groove.

 

 

5. Olivia Newton-John – Xanadu (10" Picture Disc)

Why it’s valuable: Highly collectible USA picture disc edition.
Estimated value: €6,370 – €8,185.
How to identify: 10-inch vinyl with the image printed directly onto the disc.

 

 

6. Nirvana – Bleach (1989 White Vinyl)

Why it’s valuable: First pressing limited to 1,000 copies on white vinyl with poster.
Estimated value: Up to €4,550.
How to identify: White vinyl, 1989 date, Sub Pop label.

 

 

7. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1st USA MONO Deep Groove)

Why it’s valuable: A jazz masterpiece in its first mono pressing.
Estimated value: €910 – €1,820.
How to identify: “Six eye” Columbia label on the original pressing.

 

 

8. David Bowie – David Bowie (1967, Deram)

Why it’s valuable: His debut album, very different from the style that later made him famous.
Estimated value: €1,500 – €3,000.
How to identify: UK Deram label pressing.

 

 

9. Prince – The Black Album

Why it’s valuable: Pulled from the market a week before release by Prince himself.
Estimated value: €7,280 – €18,200.
How to identify: Official catalog number — beware of bootlegs.

 

 

10. Vainica Doble – Vainica Doble (1971, Ópalo)

Why it’s valuable: Only around 300 copies pressed. A Spanish pop gem with cover art by Iván Zulueta.
Estimated value: €800 – €2,000.
How to identify: Original Ópalo label pressing.

 

 

💡 Final tip: Before selling, have the edition and condition verified by a professional appraiser or trusted record store. A small detail — like a label misprint or an untouched cover — can dramatically increase its value.