Guides
For vinyl collectors.
Practical answers to the questions collectors ask before, during, and after building a catalog. New guides added as the questions come up.
Looking up a specific record?
Browse 40 album value guides.
First-press labels, catalog numbers, matrix clues, and value ranges by condition.
Comparing more than one album?
Browse vinyl values by artist.
Put collectible originals side by side and see which labels, matrices, and inserts move each record's value.
Starting with the center label?
Identify four classic pressing-label families.
Visual markers, rim text, catalog prefixes, plant clues, and records that use each design.
Staring at the dead wax?
Decode 20 matrix and runout marks.
Matrix prefixes, mastering signatures, plant codes, and the symbols that look like scratches until you know what they mean.
Album value
The Beatles — Rubber Soul first-press value.
What an original 1965 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
The Beatles — The Beatles (White Album) first-press value.
What an original 1968 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
The Beatles — Abbey Road first-press value.
What an original 1969 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Elton John — Goodbye Yellow Brick Road first-press value.
What an original 1973 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Elton John — Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy first-press value.
What an original 1975 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Elton John — Honky Château first-press value.
What an original 1972 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Boston — Boston first-press value.
What an original 1976 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Boston — Don't Look Back first-press value.
What an original 1978 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Michael Jackson — Thriller first-press value.
What an original 1982 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.
Album value
Michael Jackson — Off the Wall first-press value.
What an original 1979 first-press is worth, how to tell it from reissues, and what pushes a clean copy to the top of its range.