It’s certainly been quite the busy month for vinyl aficionados in July, at least, looking at the sales that have taken place on Discogs.
It would appear that jazz has once again become quite the hunt for several collectors, as we once again take a look at the most expensive vinyl to be sold through the online marketplace last month. There’s also been some movement with Ozzy Osbourne’s back catalogue as the world still comes to terms with the loss of 'the Prince of Darkness', and Taylor Swift’s earlier work has once again elicited quite the sales price.
But it’s one thing to see how much one person would purchase what could be their 'holy grail' on vinyl, but not everyone is willing to pay that same amount.
That’s why we’ve decided to take a look at the median sales price for each of the 15 releases on the Discogs list, to give you an idea of how much it is worth, usually, rather than how much someone was willing to part with.
But as ever with our look at Discogs, check you have the correct release (we’ve included catalogue numbers or barcodes where applicable), take a look and see how many are for sale currently and undertake your due diligence before listing anything.
Keep it all on Discogs also; a number of you (myself included) will have no doubt received an email from the marketplace insisting not to take trades/orders away from the platform, for fear of phishing scams or even worse – paying for something that never existed in the first place.
With those caveats in mind, shall we take a look at the big movers and shakers on Discogs last month?
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13. Tommy Flanagan Trio – Overseas (PRLP 7134)
This 1958 debut album from the Tommy Flanagan Trio is a legendary jazz collectable on the Prestige label. Featuring a young Elvin Jones on drums and Flanagan on piano, the original pressing is exceptionally rare, with some accounts suggesting that many copies were destroyed after release. Its rarity is compounded by the fact that it was recorded by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, making it a masterpiece for both jazz historians and audiophiles, and a costly average price of £1,046.17. | Getty Images/Discogs
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14. Deep 6 – Ghost Ride (414)
This obscure 1981 EP is another one for collectors of early punk. Released on the tiny ICI Sound label, it was a self-pressed single with extremely limited distribution. The high value is a perfect storm of extreme scarcity, the iconic "Skull sleeve" artwork that is a key part of its appeal, and its legendary status in a niche but dedicated collecting scene. This is a record that's as much an artefact of a bygone music scene as it is a piece of music, with the average sales price of £1,500.00 giving you an idea of its scarcity. | Canva/Discogs
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15. Hank Mobley – Hank Mobley (BLP 1568)
The 1957 Blue Note pressing of Hank Mobley's self-titled album is one of the most valuable hard bop records in existence. Its rarity is a result of a very small production run as one of the last in the famous "1500" series, and its specific "NY23" label variation is a key authenticator for collectors. Recorded by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder with a stellar line-up, this album is a definitive hard bop masterpiece and a blue-chip collectable for serious jazz vinyl enthusiasts - so serious you'll look to be paying on average around £1,875.65 for the release. | Getty Images/Discogs