| Artist |
Song/Album |
Cost (either sold, purchased or estimated) |
Information |
|---|
| Wu-Tang Clan |
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin |
$4,000,000 |
Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin CD (of which only one copy was produced) was sold through Paddle8 on November 24, 2015, for $2,000,000, according to Record Collector 449.[1] On December 9, 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek identified the buyer as hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli.[2] On September 10, 2021 the Wu-Tang Clan broke their own record when the United States Department of Justice, which had seized the album from Martin Shkreli as part of a forfeiture, sold the album for $4,000,000 to crypto collective PleasrDAO, according to The New York Times.[3] |
| Bob Dylan |
"Blowin' in the Wind" |
$1,800,000 |
A one-off recording of Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" sold for $1.8 million at auction in 2022, according to multiple sources, including Rolling Stone.[4] |
| The Beatles |
The Beatles (the "White Album") |
$790,000 |
The Beatles (the "White Album") (Parlophone UK album, 1968) – Ringo Starr's personal copy (No. 0000001) was sold for $790,000 in December 2015, according to Rolling Stone. This is the highest price ever paid for an album that has been commercially released. |
| Elvis Presley |
"My Happiness" |
$300,000 |
Elvis Presley's "My Happiness" acetate was purchased by Jack White for $300,000 in January 2015.[5] It was then re-released on Record Store Day 2015 by Third Man Records. |
| The Beatles |
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |
$290,500 |
A fully signed copy of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP sold for $290,500 (£190,000) in 2013.[6] |
| John Lennon and Yoko Ono |
Double Fantasy |
$150,000 |
A copy of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy (Geffen US album, 1980), autographed by Lennon five hours before his murder. This sold in 1999 for $150,000.[7][8] |
| Frank Wilson |
"Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" |
$133,818.00 |
One of two known copies of this Northern soul classic (SOUL*35019, US 7-inch 45 rpm in plain sleeve, 1966), fetched over £100,000 in 2020, according to the Harborough Mail. Northern soul is a highly collectible area, based around obscure American soul singles. |
| The Beatles |
Yesterday and Today |
$125,000 |
Yesterday and Today (Capitol, US album in ‘butcher’ sleeve, 1966). A sealed mint "first state" stereo copy sold for US$125,000 in February 2016,[9] unsealed mint copies of this pressing have regularly sold for well over $15,000. Other pressings and states are also available, in both mono and stereo with prices ranging from $150 to $10,000.[10] |
| The Quarrymen |
Untitled |
$105,047.13 |
A tape of The Quarrymen performing live sold for £78,500[11] |
| The Silver Beatles |
Untitled |
$46,826.67 |
The Silver Beatles' Decca audition tape fetched £35,000 at auction[12] |
| John Lennon |
Untitled |
$30,000 |
A recording of John Lennon singing at a party in 1973 sold for $30,000 at Bonhams in 2008[13] |
| The Beatles |
"Till There Was You" |
$103,685.70 |
10-inch acetate sold in March 2016 for £77,500, according to Record Collector 453. |
| Mick Jagger and Keith Richards |
Untitled |
$67,230.98 |
The earliest known tape of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards rehearsing fetched £50,250 at auction.[11] |
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience |
Untitled |
$64,287.54 |
1968 Woburn Music Festival performance sold for £48,050 at Christie's.[14] |
| David Bowie (with The Konrads) |
Untitled |
$52,660.14 |
Omega sold David Bowie's first demo tape (with The Konrads) for £39,360 in 2018 (Record Collector 485). |
| Michael Jackson |
"What More Can I Give" |
$50,000 |
A Michael Jackson "What More Can I Give" studio reference CD sold on eBay for $50,000 in 2015[15] |
| Long Cleve Reed & Little Harvey Hull |
"Original Stack O'Lee Blues" |
$50,000 |
"Original Stack O'Lee Blues" (Black Patti, US 78 rpm in plain sleeve, 1927). $50,000 offered to Joe Bussard, according to Amanda Petrusich's Do Not Sell At Any Price. |
| Scaramanga Silk |
"Choose Your Weapon" |
$41,095 |
Sold for $41,095 on Discogs.[16] |
| Aphex Twin |
Caustic Window |
$46,300 |
A test pressing of Aphex Twin's Caustic Window album sold for $46,300 on eBay in 2014, with the buyer being Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft.[17] |
| Dark |
Dark Round the Edges |
$36,123.57 |
A highly limited colour gatefold copy of Dark's Round The Edges prog LP sold for £27,000, according to Pete Bonner from Psychotron, in Record Collector 517. |
| Tommy Johnson |
"Alcohol and Jake Blues" |
$37,100 |
A copy of Tommy Johnson's "Alcohol and Jake Blues" 78 rpm sold for $37,100 on eBay in 2013[18] |
| The Beatles |
Please Please Me (Parlophone stereo version with the black and gold label) |
$29,864.83 |
A copy of The Beatles' Please Please Me LP (the Parlophone stereo version with the black and gold label, which regularly sells for over £1,000) sold in 2009 for £22,322.[19] |
| Bob Dylan |
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan |
$35,000 |
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (CBS, US album, stereo 1963, featuring four tracks deleted from subsequent releases), a copy belonging to Dylan's one-time girlfriend Suze Rotolo with hand-written notes on the track-listing, was auctioned by Christie's in New York for a reported $35,000.[20][10] |
| Jean-Michel Jarre |
[[Musique pour Supermarché (Music for Supermarkets) |
$45,048.17 |
Music for Supermarkets (Disques Dreyfus, France, FDM 18113), Only one copy of this LP exists. It was auctioned for 36,000FR (approx. $14,000 at the time, or about $33,563 in 2016) in Paris in 1983. |
| Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers |
"My Bonnie" |
$30,000 |
A copy of Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers' (The Beatles) "My Bonnie" 7" (Decca stock copy, 1962) was sold for $30,000 by Heritage Auctions, according to Record Collector 539. |
| The Beatles |
"Can't Buy Me Love" |
$27,500 |
A copy of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" 7" (Capitol, black & yellow vinyl) was sold for $27,500 by Heritage Auctions, according to Record Collector 539. |
| Prince |
The Black Album |
$27,500 |
A copy of Prince's untitled "black album" sold on Discogs for $27,500 in June 2018. |
