What was the most expensive record that you ever bought ?
Not how much you paid, though we could post this too.
My most expensive record is Japanese pro first pressing of Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. It sounds better than any other pressing, though I don't have US test pressing, which might sound better still. I paid, I think, $170 for it including shipping from Japan.
A friend of mine gave someone who is a rabid Beatles fan a Butcher "Yesterday and Today" (used condition). He gave me the Mobile Fidelity Beatles Box and the Mobile Fidelity Rolling Stones Box. He also gave me a Marvin Gaye One Step. i think the two big box sets are worth something. I also have the Classic Records reissues of Led Zeppelin, but they are in open and used (by me) condition.
But, some of the records I particularly prize include stuff found in the $1 bin at a used record store. I found a copy of the first ever recording of Ramirez's "Missa Criolla" on Argentine Philips. Ramirez is Argentinian and the "Missa Criolla" is the first approved Catholic mass music in the vernacular, so it is historically significant. The version by Los Frontieros that I have is a terrific version of this mass.
Yeah @inna, everyone's on the lookout for original Blue Note's. I've never seen one "in the wild". I've found some original Prestige LP's at cheap prices, many of which Rudy Van Gelder also recorded.
I posted my most expensive purchased record above. I’m adding in my most valuable as probably an original UK Harvest NM/NM Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs. Bought it for $2 in 1984 and listed comparables are on sale for c. $600.
Oh, and in contrast I bought a bunch of LP’s for 2 bucks apiece at the recent sidewalk sale Millennium Records in Portland Oregon has once or twice a year. I even found a few titles on my wants list, all in NM condition. It took me about 4 hours to look through all the cartons of LP’s; I washed down some muscle relaxers with Bourbon when I got home. 😉
When I go a record huntin’ I bring along my little 6-ring notebook (with 3-1/2" x 6" lined filler paper) which contains pages of titles, too many to remember. I've bought more LP's in the past five years or so than I did in the preceding twenty-five.
I somewhat arbitrarily set myself a limit of $100 for any and all LP’s, breaking that rule for only one title: the MoFi 1-Step of Tapestry. I care enough about the album to pay for the first really good (in relative terms: Lou Adler was not a record producer who made audiophile quality recordings. The recording itself has always suffered from mediocre SQ, particularly of the piano and voice) version of the album.
I recently found a stone-Mint copy of Church Street Blues by Tony Rice, for which I paid $80. This great Bluegrass album on Sugar Hill Records features excellent SQ.
The best LP investment I ever made was getting the Beatles In Mono boxset while it was still in print. I paid whatever it was going for then ($250-$300), and it now changes hands for many multiples of that amount. I then sold all my MoFi stereo Beatles LP’s, keeping the original stereo Parlophone pressings I bought back in the late-60’s.
Since someone asked, this is the original british Electric Ladyland cover: Got this image from the web and the red stripes were added for modesty, not on the original image
Beatles MOFI collection brand new when it came out 40 or so years ago for about $250. Would never sell it....Probably worth $1500-$2000 in the NM condition it is in. My Dark Side or Set Pepper UHQRs may be worth in that range and only paid $35-40 for them when they came out. Would never sell them....
Paying for rarity is different than paying for audiophile quality. I would not pay for rarity as almost always, any excellent music is either available as a reissue or is in the works. I am sure the availability of the new Aja UHQR (which is the best sounding record I own) will make the Cisco version take a hit on the resale market for audiophiles (probably not collectors).
If you're collecting records and not playing them, you might as well collect stamps or coins... Records are made to be played and enjoyed. Just like cars.
I made a bid of $1700 on a King Solomon Hill 78-didn't win it though. Most I actually paid was $800 for a Skip James Paramount 78. Don't think I ever paid much more than $150 for anything on vinyl.
The Doors Record Store Day Live at Konserthuset Live 3 lp Set.i bought it after RSD for $103 bucks that's with shipping and tax.I couldn't wait and bought the first one I saw on ebay...I'm a Doors nut job and have at least 80 different copies of all of there albums and bootlegs lps.I have all of there cd box sets,cds live and bootlegs.Also about 20 cassettes.....
A bit more obscure, but the original 1992 release of Guided by Voices - Propeller was limited to +/-500, all hand-made covers, all different. At one point I owned four of them. I believe $750 was the most I paid for any one of them. Sold one a couple of years ago for $3200. Pretty sound investment. ;-)
All Things Must Pass , triple LP, by George Harrison. Used ,near mint on Discogs for $100. I just can't bring myself to spend more than that for any LP. I have 3000+ LP's, many bought during my early days of spinning records, around the late 1960's.
Referencing my collection via Discogs, I think the Classic Records 180g issue of The Who's "Tommy" was my most expensive single purchase, around $700. I have box sets that would now go for much more, starting with "The Beatles In Mono," Gentle Giant's "Unburied Treasure," and CCR's "Absolute Originals."
I have a lot of Classics, more Who, LZ, Genesis, etc. Ditto tons of Music Matters jazz reissues (which I particularly love). And for better or worse, about a dozen MoFi One-Steps (Bill Evans's "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" is worth a fortune; holy smoke!).
Fortunately, it's all covered by my homeowner's policy. You better believe I made sure of that years ago.
Individual records I might’ve paid as much as $100 for a London FFR or a Mercury Living sound. I bought the whole inventory of a record store in 1996 for $300. Something like 10,000 Records I started working in a record store at the age of 11 until I was 27 during that time all my records were free.
$350 for a first press, near mint condition of Israeli band Mashina - "Monsters Of Glory." It's been out of print since 1992. Then reissued in 2022 for $30... :-)
$125 for my holy grail of a rare 180 gram LP of Tower of Power’s 1970 East Bay Grease. Sparkling in the Sand was the cut on the album that’s beyond perfection. I couldn’t tell you what the other songs are because I’ve never listened to them. So yeah, $125 for a 9 minute song. Hey, when it’s good it’s good.
@richmon I was reading your post from 2009 when you first dipped toes in the vinyl pool. Great to hear you're fully vested now! I've all the original Hawkwind albums up to 1982. Hard to pick a favorite.
@noromance - That's a pretty good price, I also lost my log book and was searching for it at record shows and it was always $100 and up. Always missing from the album when I found them for sale. Same for Cheech and Chong Big Bamboo with the giant rolling paper, always mia.
In Search of Space and Hall of the Mountain Grill my 2 favorite Hawkwind albums.
Almost mint copy of original Hawkwind - X in Search of Space with an immaculate Log Book included for $50. I gave my somewhat tattered copy of the Log Book to a girl back in the day and always regretted it. They go for $200-$300+ now. I tend to bargain-hunt originals rather than buy expensive remasters.
The most expensive record I ever purchased is obviously the first one, "Hot Rod Lincoln" at about $1.00! But that has sent me into this wonderful, beautiful world of music. I have no idea how much I've spent over the years, but it's been worth every penny.
earlier I wrote about the most expensive " Record " that I purchased
but since the MFSL Beatles box set was just mentioned I have to say
I Bid $201 dollars on e-Bay for a 1979 Japanese release of the Beatles Collection never thinking I would win but I did so $200 is the most I've spent on a " box set "
These pressing were better that the individual earlier Japanese pressing I have .
Original high-grade VeeJay copy of "Introducing the Beatles". Don't remember what I paid, bc I eventually got a full refund. The idiot who sold it to me mailed it 3000 miles packaged between two pieces of corrugated cardboard. Worse, he'd cut those pieces from a cardboard box and positioned the box's crease right in the middle of the cover (LP inside the cover, of course). As you've probably guessed, the pkg bent in the middle during shipping and the album arrived in two pieces. And the guy didn't buy insurance.
The worst part, though, is that the seller guy refused to give me a refund, and it took weeks of haggling with eBay to force the guy to give me my dough back. eBay is not Amazon when it comes to buyer protection.
Echoing another poster, the two albums I SOLD for the most were a Second State Butcher Block and an original mono UK Trak copy of "Are You Experienced" (bought when I was a kid in 1967 off the shelf from a record store in Bermuda -- and played only a few times b/c, frankly the sound was awful to the point of being nearly unlistenable). Both went for $5-600, which most people would find jaw-dropping, but here, makes me a piker.
I have not bought an LP since 1982, and I don't remember what they cost back then, but I know that I wasn't going out of my way to buy quality pressings.
However, within the last few years, I did pay a seller $100 for a JVC XRCD red book of Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits . (It was Different Drum that I really wanted.) The seller was raving about the sonic quality, but I didn't think it was that great. IMO, the DCC red book of Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits Volume 2 sounds way better as does the MFSL red book of Simple Dreams, and I could probably go on and on about CDs I paid a lot less for that sound a lot better.
Anyway, a while back ago I was taking it out of its jewel case and it snapped in half.
The only thing that's sucks is you spend big money on an unopened lp and one day you sell it for even bigger money.To find out it's a different copy and not the one on the cover... So I don't buy sealed copies ,buyer beware there is fraud everywhere......
I don't remember the most expensive I bought; probably some of the MFSL from the early 2000s. But the most expensive I sold was one of those--a sealed, limited edition (fairly low number) copy of Pink Floyd's Meddle for $1100.
@hysteve- I'm sure it sounds great, but that must have been the one reviewer who didn't think the QRP double-45 sounded best. Different setups, different systems, etc, it's all good, but personally I have yet to hear a double-45 that didn't sound even better than a great quality 33 1/3.
I bought that version of 'Aja' for the $150 list price (the most expensive single album I ever bought), and yeah, that's very amazing, too. I've also got a perfect condition promo copy of 'Aja' from when it first came out; that sounds excellent, but doesn't come close to the QRP.
Funny this subject came up. I have been on strike for the last 9 weeks and it has given me some time to clean and catalog my collection I'm not done yet but have been shocked as to what I have come up with thus far. So far, the highest value for a single record has been Dido Quiex SV-P pressing median price $481.00, three for sale from $1,612.00. I paid between 20 and 30 bucks. The highest box is the Mo Fi Beatles Collection median price $825.00. I got that a few years back with the Rolling Stone Mo Fi box and the Sinatra Box for $900.00. But my prize is Alice in Chains Jar of Flies/ SAP autographed copy going for a median price of 300 buck, without the signatures. Who knew my record collection would do better than my IRA?
I agree and will not derail any further. I don't know which isolation thread is most current/relevant but in the meantime, I will scour your links. Thank you.
Steely Dan’s Aja from Discogs. There was a review on you tube where someone did a shootout with 6 versions of Aja. He determined that the “Cisco” was the best. So, I gambled $400 based on his review and it is awesome. I cannot spend that or nowhere near on a record collection. Therefore I continue to upgrade my digital gear so streaming sounds good.
OT but do you use any special isolator pucks/pods etc directly under your DAC, streamer and amplifiers?
I’ve recently heard very good things about Stack Audio’s Auva 100’s for speaker isolation and their EQ’s for individual components. I think it’s time to replace my Stillpoints spikes/disc under my sub and speakers with something better...Thank you.
i’m also big into resonance control and i prefer decoupling in various ways; i use Arya RevOpods (32 of them) under my Wadax digital, which is 5 chassis. each chassis sit’s on a Taiko Daiza platform, which then sit on my Massif racks which use Nordost Sort Fut footers. pictures on my system link.
I paid $525 each for Led Zeppelin I and IV, Classic Records Clarity Vinyl one sided 45 rpm versions. Quite nice sounding. I have no regrets spending the dough. I bought them directly from Classic Records when they were still in business and when they had a 20% off sale. These are the white box sets that have recently been listed on eBay for over $2000.
I have the Classic Records180g LZII and the RL SS. I will do a comparison after I get my new TT.
OT but do you use any special isolator pucks/pods etc directly under your DAC, streamer and amplifiers?
I've recently heard very good things about Stack Audio's Auva 100's for speaker isolation and their EQ's for individual components. I think it's time to replace my Stillpoints spikes/disc under my sub and speakers with something better...Thank you.
i’ve been told that the Classic LZII (which i have) is equivalent to the RL SS LZII, but never heard it myself.
OTOH the guy who designed my listening room is Chris Huston, who was an engineer on LZII (he is listed on the inner jacket). he spent a couple of days staying with me during the project and we listened to LZII and he talked about that experience. pretty amazing.
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