It’s no surprise that vinyl record lovers have been collecting them for years and years. Those folks that started their collections in the ’50s and 60’s probably had some pretty hard records to find. However, just because an album is old, it doesn’t always mean it’s worth a lot of money.
It can depend on many different things such as the artist, the number of copies that were made, the label on the record, and of course, the condition of the album and the sleeve it is in.
Listed below are some of the most valuable albums from the 60’s era. It could just be possible that you have one of them in your collection or hidden away somewhere in an attic or basement you forgot about that could bring you some big bucks!
The Beatles Yesterday and Today
This album is a studio recording and was released in June 1966. It was their ninth album released on Capital Records and number twelve for total releases. Even though they had already released so many albums, this is one that is likely the most valuable today. However, there are some distinctions that prove important.
The original cover known as the Butcher Cover shows the Beatles in doctors coats holding various parts of decapitated dolls and hunks of meat. The album features some of their best hits like “Yesterday”, “Nowhere Man” and “Day Tripper”.
The Butcher Cover didn’t go over so well with some people so the Trunk photo was taken and was placed over albums that had already been made and then sold that way. Future productions of the album were made with the Trunk cover and there was of course, no Butcher label underneath. The original album with only the Butcher cover is more valuable than others.
Also, the album was recorded in different ways, mono or stereo, and this can also make a difference in value. Some estimates indicate that an original cover, the first issue could be worth anywhere between $20,000 and $45,000 if it’s in excellent shape!
The Beatles White Album
Even though the album’s title is The Beatles, it is usually referred to as The White Album. This is because other than the embossed title on the album, it was completely white and devoid of any artwork at all. They wanted the album cover to be a complete change from their previous album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was very busy and colorful.
It was released on November 22, 1968, and was the band’s ninth studio release. It was also the only double album release of their career. The album includes their hit songs “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, Helter Skelter, “Revolution 1” and “Drear Prudence”. If you have this album with original cover and it’s the first issue in excellent condition, it could be worth between $10,000 and $20,000 dollars.
Bob Dylan The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
Released on Columbia Records on May 27, 1963, this was Dylan’s second album. There are 13 songs on the album and eleven of them are original compositions by Bob Dylan himself. It contains the famous hit song “Blowin’ in the Wind”, which later became a great hit for Peter, Paul, and Mary. It was one of the greatest songs released in the 60’s era.
The album contains other songs that were successful for Dylan like “Masters of War”, “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”, “Girl from the North Country” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”.
There are four songs on the original album that were not on future releases of the album. If you happen to have this Bob Dylan classic vinyl record with the additional 4 songs, you could be looking at a value of between $10,000 and $20,000 dollars!
Led Zeppelin’s, Led Zeppelin
This album was released on January 12, 1969, in the United States and on March 31, 1969, in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. The album contains original material and some remakes and rearrangements of some contemporary and folk songs. This is a rare album and very hard to come by.
The valuable Led Zeppelin I copies have turquoise lettering and the famous picture of the Hindenburg crash on the cover.
However, do not be led astray by a reproduction of the album. A reproduction might have the turquoise lettering on the front but will not have the title or a catalog number along the spine. They may also have a differing color of vinyl and list “LZ-A” and “LZ-B on the corresponding sides of the deadway instead of the catalog number.
The Led Zeppelin II album features what’s known as the orange cover which depicts a picture of the band done in an orange color. The album includes the songs “Good Times Bad Times”, “Dazed and Confused” and “Communication Breakdown”.
Back in 2011, a copy of the rare Led Zeppelin I album sold on E Bay for over $3,400 dollars.
Elvis Presley, Speedway
Although most of the time, the albums released by Elvis Presley in the ’50s and ’60s are not usually worth all that much, the Speedway album can be a bit more valuable. The Speedway soundtrack album was released in mid-1968 by RCA Victor in mono and stereo.
After this release, Presley’s albums were only done in stereo because the mono recordings were being phased out at the time. The album was very low on the charts and did not do well at all. However, he was still Elvis after all.
Also at this point in the ’60s, other great artists were emerging and taking the spotlight such as The Beatles, The Doors, and Aretha Franklin. The Speedway album can be worth as much as $1000 to $3000 dollars. However, Elvis’s first recording called “My Happiness”, sold at auction in 2015 for a whopping $300,000 dollars! It has been listed as one of the most valuable recordings of all time.
If you aren’t lucky enough to be in possession of one of these gems of ’60s albums above, you can still look out for other albums that may not bring you $1000’s of dollars, but could still be worth several $100 dollars or even more! Just be aware that the albums must usually meet certain criteria to be worth anything much.
The Beach Boys – Ten Little Indians
The Beatle’s – Meet the Beatle’s
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
The Beatle’s – Abbey Road.