%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20684.6%2068.1%22%20style%3D%22enable-background%3Anew%200%200%20684.6%2068.1%3B%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cg%3E%0A%09%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M444.1%2C29.3h-17.4v14.5h17.4V29.3z%20M36.4%2C68.1l29.3-50.8V0H50.4L32.9%2C36.8L15.5%2C0H0v68.1h16.7V45.8l12.4%2C22.3H36.4z%0A%09%09%20M49.1%2C68.1h16.6V23.4L49.1%2C52.1V68.1z%20M76.6%2C68.1h45V53.8H93.3V41.6h21V27.1h-21V14.8h28.3V0.1h-45V68.1z%20M175.6%2C68.1h17.3v-68%0A%09%09h-16.5v40.3L150%2C0.1h-17.6v68h16.7V27.7L175.6%2C68.1z%20M235.8%2C14.8h15.4V0.1h-47.4v14.7H219v53.2h16.8V14.8z%20M290.3%2C45.9h-17.1%0A%09%09l7.5-15.6h2L290.3%2C45.9z%20M298.7%2C68.1h18l-32.2-68h-5.7l-32%2C68h18l3.3-7.1h27.1L298.7%2C68.1z%20M325.2%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1h-16.7%0A%09%09V68.1z%20M423.7%2C14.8h27.2V0.1H407v68h16.7V14.8z%20M462%2C68.1h46.2V53.8h-29.6V0.1H462V68.1z%20M564.8%2C34.1c0%2C10.7-7.2%2C19.2-18.5%2C19.2%0A%09%09c-11.4%2C0-18.5-8.5-18.5-19.2s7.1-19.2%2C18.5-19.2C557.6%2C14.9%2C564.8%2C23.4%2C564.8%2C34.1%20M580.6%2C34.1c0-19-14.2-34-34.3-34%0A%09%09c-20.2%2C0-34.3%2C15-34.3%2C34c0%2C19%2C14.1%2C34%2C34.3%2C34C566.4%2C68.1%2C580.6%2C53.1%2C580.6%2C34.1%20M604.8%2C20.5c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2%0A%09%09c4.4%2C0%2C6.6%2C3%2C6.6%2C6.6h14.7C631.8%2C9.1%2C625.1%2C0.1%2C611%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8%0A%09%09c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6%0A%09%09c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8C610.6%2C26.1%2C604.8%2C25.3%2C604.8%2C20.5%20M670%2C20.9h14.7C683.8%2C9.1%2C677.1%2C0.1%2C663%2C0.1c-12%2C0-21.7%2C9.3-21.7%2C20.6%0A%09%09c0%2C10.9%2C5.9%2C15.9%2C16.7%2C19.8c5.2%2C1.8%2C11.5%2C3.2%2C11.5%2C8c0%2C3.3-2.4%2C5.5-6.4%2C5.5c-3.6%2C0-6.6-3-6.6-6.7h-15.2c0%2C11.5%2C7.9%2C20.8%2C21.8%2C20.8%0A%09%09c12%2C0%2C21.6-9.3%2C21.6-20.6c0-10-5.3-16.4-16.7-19.8c-5.4-1.6-11.3-2.4-11.3-7.2c0-4.1%2C3.3-6.2%2C6.7-6.2C667.7%2C14.4%2C670%2C17.3%2C670%2C20.9%0A%09%09%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Decades before streaming and digital playlists, music spun on a turntable and straight into the record books. The world's most valuable vinyl records are more than albums; they're artifacts. Whether issued in small batches, autographed, or surviving as test pressings, these elusive records are the ultimate prize for vinyl enthusiasts. In some cases, a single surviving copy has sold for the price of several large homes.
It really comes down to a perfect combination of preservation, rarity, cultural significance, and a hint of rock ‘n’ roll lore. Something as small as a misprinted label or a one-off cover can send auction bids soaring. Even the soft crackle before the first note feels momentous when the vinyl itself reshaped music history.
From the Wu-Tang Clan to the Beatles, these vinyls are among the rarest and most expensive of all time. Let's drop the needle on the most valuable records ever sold.
- Wu-Tang Clan: Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
- The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album No. 0000001)
- Elvis Presley: 'My Happiness'
- The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (signed)
- John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (signed)
- The Beatles: Yesterday & Today (butcher cover)
- The Beatles: Til There Was You (10” acetate)
Wu-Tang Clan: Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
In 2015, Wu-Tang Clan completely redefined what it means to own music by pressing exactly one copy of this album. Not one thousand. Not one hundred. One copy. That single record sold for $2 million to Martin Shkreli, then head of Turing Pharmaceuticals. The clause even barred commercial release for 88 years. Its value wasn't about chart success; it was about scarcity in the streaming age.
Shkreli has since been sentenced to 20 years in prison, and his album supposedly lies in the hands of federal agents, according to HMV.
Sold for: $2 million
The Beatles: The Beatles (White Album No. 0000001)
When the Beatles released their self-titled double album in 1968, each early copy was stamped with a unique serial number. Ringo Starr just so happened to hold on to No. 0000001. In December 2015, his personal copy was sold at Julien’s auction in the U.S. for a whopping $790,000 to an unnamed buyer. Between the serial number and prior ownership, this record is a Beatles relic. Starr sold his Ludwig drum kit to Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, for $2.2 million at the same auction.
Sold for: $790,000
Elvis Presley: 'My Happiness'
Years before his gyrating hips shook the nation, Elvis Presley paid to record My Happiness, as a teenager. That early disc, regarded as his first-ever recording, became one of vinyl's most priceless gems. Former White Stripes frontman and Third Man Records owner Jack White purchased a copy at an auction in 2015 for $300,000. Its worth lies in timing, and captures the very beginning of a career that would define music history.
Sold for: $300,00
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (signed)
Released in 1967, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was already a cultural landmark. But one particular copy became incomparable when all four Beatles signed it. In 2013, the album, initially expected to fetch $30,000, sold for $290,000 to a buyer from the Midwest. The math is simple. Four autographs, plus one of the most celebrated albums ever, equals a collector's dream.
Sold for: $290,000
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Double Fantasy (signed)
Double Fantasy arrived in 1980, marking John Lennon's return to the studio. One specific copy, signed by Lennon on December 8, 1980, just hours before his death, was sold in 1999 for $150,000. The album itself was widely available. The timing of the signature was not. That heartbreaking proximity to history transformed an ordinary pressing into a deeply significant piece of music memorabilia and quite possibly the last album ever signed by the music legend.
Sold for: $150,000
The Beatles: Yesterday & Today (butcher cover)
Yesterday & Today was briefly issued in the U.S. and Japan in 1966 with a cover depicting the band dressed in butcher smocks, surrounded by raw meat and dismembered dolls. The image was swiftly withdrawn and replaced with a more conventional cover, shrinking the number of originals almost overnight. In February 2013, a sealed, mint copy sold for $125,000 at an auction. A marketing error became a valuable treasure for collectors thanks to the controversy surrounding the cover.
Sold for: $125,000
The Beatles: Til There Was You (10” acetate)
Before Beatlemania, the band recorded this 10-inch acetate demo for EMI, featuring (A-side) 'Till There Was You and (B-side) Hullo Little Girl, (with “hello” clearly misspelled). The disc, referred to as the "record that launched the Beatles," ended up in the attic of Liverpool musician Les Maguire, former keyboardist for Gerry and the Pacemakers. It resurfaced in March 2016 and was sold in Warrington, England, to an unnamed buyer. The record’s value stems from its place in history and its role in documenting the Beatles at the brink of stardom, immortalized on vinyl.
Sold for: $104,600