There’s no 5,000% tariff on vinyl — yet — so it may be a good time to score some only moderately high-priced LPs this weekend at the annual Record Store Day event. But seriously, the 2025 RSD has something for everybody, even though the quantities of the roughly 350 exclusive titles coming out today may not last long enough to satisfy all comers.
It’s going to be tough, “Wicked” and Oasis fans, and we apologize in advance for raising any hopes you have of scoring those titles. On the other hand, there’s going to be a lot more Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams to go around for everyone. And if you are a fan of classic rock artists like Elton, Joni and the Replacements (Paul Westerberg is classic rock now, right?), you may have a few extra hours or even days to put your purchases in order.
Here’s a guide to some exclusive releases we’ve singled out, mostly through sampling them ourselves, as the most covetable RSD releases of 2025 — from Resonance’s usual great round of unreleased jazz sessions to a brand new Wu Tang Clan that has a different cover for every copy. Read on to see just how many delectable bases this year’s lineup covers.
Gracie Abrams “Live From Radio City Music Hall”12,000 copiesAbrams is the only artist besides Post Malone and her friend Taylor Swift who has a Record Store Day release this spring the year after having a new studio album that made one of the top two spots on the Billboard 200. All of this to say, she may be more freakishly popular than you know if you’re not part of the target demo, so it’s a feather in RSD’s cap that she deigned to put out an entire concert from her sold-out tour as a vinyl-only, limited release. (For now, anyway; it’s deemed RSD First, which probably means there’ll be a second edition on LP as well as a release in other formats.) Are you one of the oldster RSD hounds worrying that this release will further clog up the stores with youngsters this weekend? We can only tell you: That’s so true. We weren’t able to preview this title, but we’ve seen Abrams in performance and will bet this release will be augmented by an audience mic picking up siv lot of sing-alongs. (2 LPs, color unknown. RSD First.)
Various Artists “Wicked: The Soundtrack”2,000 copiesFace it, yhis is just going to be a tough one to track down, given the shockingly limited quantity (one-sixth of Gracie’s total), so be prepared for some green-flecked tears from yourself or your loved ones if the sold-out sign is up by the time you arrive at your local indie. There will be other chances to pick up the “Wicked” movie music on vinyl, but the lures of this edition are the inclusion of a bonus track tagged onto the end — “Ozdust Duet” — plus pressings on green glitter and pink glitter vinyl, and hand-holding cover art exclusive to this edition that even a non-fan might admit looks wickedly cool. (RSD Exclusive.)
Talking Heads “Live on Tour”8,000 copies U.S. (14,900 worldwide)One of the hottest items of Record Store Day 2024 was Talking Heads’ “Live at WCOZ 77.” With a healthy 8,000 copies released to the U.S. last April, you might have thought it would stick around on shelves for at least a few days, and you might have thought wrong. So don’t be a sleepyhead about this T-Heads release, a veritable sequel to last year’s success. Like that predecessor, it also has 8K copies for America, and also like that one, it is pressed across four sides of vinyl at 45 rpm, with three (or in one case two) tracks per side. Not everyone likes to do that much side-flipping, but someone in the Heads’ or Rhino’s camp must be a big Tina Weymouth fan — they don’t want those delectable bass sounds making the needle jump up if the grooves are cut thinner. This show, recorded at the Agora in Cleveland on December 18, 1978 on the “More Songs About Buildings and Food” tour, had a previous life as a promo LP, sent to radio stations for broadcast in 1979… and original copies go for a premium, though it was also widely bootlegged. This supercedes either of those, anyway: it’s remastered from the original analog tapes and adds one track that was never included on the original promo item, “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel.” (RSD Exclusive.)
Oasis “Time Flies…1994 – 2009”1,000 copies U.S. (15,000 copies worldwide)We shouldn’t even be putting this one on our list to tease you with it, because you’re not getting one… at least not if you’re not first in line at your store, probably, and willing to wait for the resale market. Although this boxed set has a fairly normal quantity of numbered pressings worldwide, most of those copies are staying over in the land o’ Gallagher, and only 1,000 are being released to American stores. Oh, you want to know what you’re missing? Sure: This is a reissue of a 2010 collection of the band’s entire singles output on four color LPs, three or four tracks to a side. At least the “RSD First” designation allows for the possibility of a reprint, maybe without the same assortment of pretty colors, Anyway, if you really need this one, godspeed. (Various colors, four LPs. RSD First.)
Taylor Swift “Fortnight”Quantity: a closely guarded secret, apparentlyFormer Record Store Day Ambassador Swift often comes through with something exclusive for the twice-a-year RSD events, often creating some mania. There may be slightly less hysteria over this exclusive 7″ white vinyl of “Fortnight,” which is made more special by having a dance remix, “Fortnight [BLOND:ISH Remix],” on the B-side. Or maybe no less, when you consider all the releases this year likely to attract a similar audience slightly less grizzled than the strictly classic-rock crowds of yore. This time, they’re not announcing how many were pressed; based on what stores are reporting they received, it may be signficantly more than past Swift releases. But don’t make any assumptions there. (White vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
Laufey “A Night At The Symphony: Hollywood Bowl”2,100 copiesYou may have already heard this music… not on record, but via an Imax screen. It’s basically the soundtrack for the excellent Sam Wrench-directed concert film that premiered in cinemas last December, offering global viewers a look at her summer 2024 show with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil. Her audience is rabid — this writer among them — for her one-of-a-kind blend of Great American Songbook musical styles and twentysomething-relevant lyrics. Surely this has to show up in other formats eventually, but RSD has it all to itself for now. Something you definitely will not get in any other future formats, besides the pink wax: a full-sized poster that has a wall-suitable photo of the Icelandic-Asian-American star on one side and full credits on the other. Those credits are so detailed that they list the arrangers for each track and every participating member of the LA Phil; kudos for that. (Pink vinyl, 2 LPs. RSD First.)
The Doors “Strange Days 1967 – A Work In Progress”7,500 copies U.S. (14,000 worldwide)After a run of live Doors releases for recent Record Store Day events, this one finds the band in the studio in early 1967 — stripped. In the short but illuminating liner notes, engineer Bruce Botnick writes about how the Turtles (whose “Happy Together” he was recording at the same time) stopped by and brought a reference copy they’d just been gifted of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper.” That new LP was played through the speakers at Sunset Sound and had the effect on the Doors of wanting to experiment more with the tracks they were recording. But, effectively, Botnick suggests, this newly discovered tape that was found in the vault captures where the record was headed before it subsequently got headier. “Not every song is here, probably because this is the batch we recorded between touring,” he writes of the seven selections. “You’ll notice that some elements are missing in almost all of the songs – that’s one of the things that makes these mixes fun – and they were mixed at the end of various sessions… I’m happy I had this tape buried in my fault for 58 years and can bring it fresh to you now.” It’s not the first time people have seen (or heard) Jim Morrison naked, but it’s one of the more rewarding. The “exclusive” status suggests you won’t have another shot at picking this up if you bypass this edition. (Translucent blue vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
Prince & the New Power Generation “Live At Glam Slam”4,000 copies U.S.You’ve got to give Sony credit. Right on a yellow sticker on the shrink wrap, they declare that this performance was “originally released in the Grammy-nominated ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ Super Deluxe Edition Box Set.” That’s admirable, in that a lot of labels break out individual elements from boxed sets but don’t necessarily announce it, in case they can fool someone on the fence into thinking it’s completely otherwise unavailable. On the other hand, maybe the record company figured “Live at Glam Slam” is so good that folks who don’t have the deluxe “Diamonds” will spring for it after this — a reasonable assumption. But even if you already own that worthwhile package on CD, won’t you want a full club gig from one of his peak periods spread across the insides of a tri-fold jacket, in Tweety Bird-colored vinyl to match his 1992 guitar? I tawt I taw an irresistible pick-up. (Yellow vinyl, 3 LPs. RSD Exclusive.)
Charles Mingus “In Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts”3,000 copies U.S. (4,000 worldwide)Resonance Records, one of the homes of “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman, put out its first album of unreleased Mingus three years ago with “The Lost Album From Ronnie Scott’s.” There’s a wonderful sequel to that here with this never-before-released recording of the legendary bassist captured live in Buenos Aires, Argentina in June 1977, accompanied by Ricky Ford (tenor sax), Jack Walrath (trumpet), Robert Neloms (piano) and Dannie Richmond (drums). The elaborate booklet includes newly commissioned liner notes, by Mingus biographer Brian Pristley, among others, plus interviews with surviving members of the combo. As is typical with Resonance, you only have to wait a week after RSD if you want a copy of the CD, which is unlimited, but it’s these deluxe vinyl packages that really hit the spot with collectors. (It’s actually one of two Mingus releases for RSD this year, the other being the 2,000-copy “Mingus at Monterey,” a reissue of a 1964 set.) (3 LPs, black vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
Wu Tang and Mathematics “Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman: Wu-Tang, The Saga Continues Collection“Quantity unknownMuch of the time, when there’s a distinct novelty at play with a Record Store Day release, it has to do with the color or shape of the vinyl. In this case, it has to do with the cover: each jacket is, allegedly, unique and a one-of-one. (The quantity of the pressing has not been revealed, so we’ll have to guess how many individual snowflakes there are in this universe.) It’d be notable enough that Wu Tang is releasing its first new album in years and it will be made available only at participating stores on Record Store Day, but they had to gild the lily. How it works, we’re not exactly certain, but the promo states, “These covers are created through a harmonious blend of hand-crafted artistry, proprietary technology (without the use of A.I.) and advanced printing techniques.” We weren’t able to preview any copies in advance, so we’ll be as surprised as you are how they look. We just hope they’re available at a sub-Martin Shkreli price point. (RSD Exclusive.)
John & Yoko, The Plastic Ono Band, Elephant’s Memory “Power To The People – Live at the One-To-One Concert, New York City, 1972”3,000 copies U.S. (5,500 worldwide)The film “One to One: John & Yoko” comes out on Imax screens this weekend, with a wider release in regular theaters the following week. Consider this four-song EP a mini-soundtrack, as it includes a sampling of four tracks from the August 30, 1972 benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City that included John Lennon’s final and only full-length solo concerts after the Beatles. Produced by Sean Ono Lennon and mixed and engineered from the original tapes by Paul Hicks and Sam Gannon, this EP has three previously unreleased tracks, in advance of the whole ’72 concert experience filling up a boxed set this coming October. (RSD Exclusive.)
Joni Mitchell & the L.A. Express “1976 US Tour”3,600 copies U.S. (6,500 worldwide)Let’s start with the nice packaging, although it’s almost the least of the reasons to pick up this collection. It’s a three-record set, and the first time I picked up the relative heft of it, I assumed it was in a tri-fold jacket, like most such releases are. (I’m not a big fan of tri-folds — they feel a little messy — but they beat packing three LPs into a single sleeve.) But au contrair: “1976 U.S. Tour” is actually packaged in book-style format, so it opens neatly doesn’t sprawl across your lap. It’s the kind of class a Mitchell project deserves, with a nice selection of B&W photos within. Yes, you may already have this material, if you’re a big fan — the content is a breakout of material recently brought out as part of Mitchell’s “Vol. 4” CD boxed set. But having this live set of Joni at her most funky and accessible on vinyl is worth splurging on… leave “for free” for another time. (Black vinyl, 3 LPs. RSD Exclusive.)
Patsy Cline “Imagine That: The Lost Recordings (1954-1963)”2,550 copiesWhat a gift, to learn the archives of the woman many would claim was country music’s greatest “girl singer” were not anywhere near exhausted. Every period of Cline’s career is covered in this set with previously unreleased material, but it goes back to her being a featured vocalist with Bill Peer’s Melody Boys in 1954, on up through some of the last radio gigs she did before her death in the early ‘60s. It marks the first time in 13 years someone has found and released fresh Patsy material. It comes from some of the same folks who do the Jazz Detective releases on that side of the genre fence, so you know that among other careful archvial oversight, the annotation will be extensive and first-rate. (RSD First.)
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets “Echoes (Live)”4,000 copiesDrummer Nick Mason has done a fine job of touring Pink Floyd’s pre-“Dark Side” catalog in recent years, with the “Meddle” classic “Echoes” (which Waters and Gilmour have not been so faithful about reviving) always being a fan favorite. This 12-inch single would be worth enough just for recommitting that track to wax in a modern-day rendering, But there’s a gimmick here that may make it a must-buy even for some vinyl fans who aren’t as down with the Floyd. This is the very rare example of a record that’s been cut so that it begins where the run-out groove should be, and winds its way backwards to what would nominally be the start of the disc. Jack White had a version of “Lazaretto” like this, and a few others, like Megadeth and Camper Van Beethoven, have attempted it, but chances are you’ve never experienced this freaky concept in the world. Every Record Store Day should have at least one useless but irresistible novelty like this… and the fact that the music’s good (mixed by Steven Wilson!) is gravy. (Black vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
The Replacements “Tim”6,000 copies U.S. (7,900 worldwide)You idiot! You passed up the chance to buy the Replacements’ “Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)” boxed set when it came out in 2023, and now you find it truly was a limited edition after all, with prices for used copies currently starting at $190 on Discogs. But listen, there is a chance for partial redemption here. Although that wonderful box will never be repressed again, Rhino has broken out a two-record set that doesn’t include any of the larger collection’s unreleased rarities but does includes two separate mixes of the 1984 album. One is a 2023 remastering of the original mix, which was problematic (if still held as beloved by many fans) but does sound better cleaned up. The second LP is what you’re really after, though — a 2023 thorough remix done by Ed Stasium that turns a rock masterpiece into… well, an even greater masterpiece. For “Placemats” fans, this is mandatory stuff. Lay your $40 down, clown! (Transparent purple vinyl, 2 LPs. RSD Exclusive.)
Elvis Costello “Kings Of America Live At The Royal Albert Hall”2,000 copiesTake it from someone who owns dozens of live Costello bootlegs: This in particular is a live set to cherish. It’s a 17-song concert recorded on Jan. 27, 1987 at the Royal Albert Hall in London with James Burton, Jim Keltner, Jerry Schiff, Benmont Tench and T-Bone Wolk in his T Bone Burnett-assembled, “King of America”-centric band. The concert was included in CD form only on Costello’s recent “King of America and Other Realms” boxed set, but it really deserves the breaking-out it’s gotten here. Besides then-new “KOA” cuts, it includes a healthy selection of country or country-adjacent covers, including a version of “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” with Burton guitar lines that’ll knock your ever-loving socks off. (Color vinyl, 2 LPs. RSD Exclusive.)
Elton John “Live at the Rainbow Theatre”5,000 copiesIf you want an Elton greatest-hits set, look elsewhere, but if you’re a RSD diehard, you’re probably looking for rarer elements anyway. John and Ray Cooper’s 1977 performance at London’s Rainbow Theatre is on vinyl for the first time with this nine-track LP. Aside from “I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford),” which appeared on the 1990 “To Be Continued…” CD set, the rest of this concert has never been officially released. The “RSD First” label means it could get a different, wider release later on, but beware: Elton has had that label slapped on some of this Record Store Day exclusives before, and everyone thought he would re-release them, and then he didn’t. (RSD First.)
The Blasters “An American Music Story: The Complete Studio Recordings 1979-1985”1,000 copiesThis boxed set consists of all four of the band’s four studio albums — “American Music,” “The Blasters,” “Non Fiction” and “Hard Line” — along with a bonus disc of rarities. The 5-LP set comes packaged in a hardcover slip case box with a 24-page book that features a short book’s worth of liner notes by music journalist (and Varietycontributor) Chris Morris. Hard to believe they only pressed 1K of these, especially when the original albums have never been repressed. (We understand those LPs may come out individually in the future, but this short run is truly it for the box.) American music doesn’t get much better — be grateful if you’re one of the thousand who gets to embrace the classic band in this way. (Black vinyl, 5 LPs. RSD Exclusive.)
Freddie Hubbard “On Fire: Live From The Blue Morocco”1,500 copiesIt will be a hot time in the old blue town tonight when Resonance sells through the mere 1,500 copies it’s putting out of this great, never-before-released recording of the jazz trumpeter Hubbard, captured live in 1967 in the Bronx at what the cognoscneti will tell you was a personal peak. The liner notes have such artists as Eddie Henderson, Jeremy Pelt, Steven Bernstein, Reggie Workman and Dan Morgenstern lining up to pay tribute to the skills of Hubbard, who you might know from his work with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane or Ornette Coleman as well as his own classic sides. A two-CD set will become available of the same material next Friday, if you miss out on this very scarce pressing. (3 LPs, black vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
Todd Rundgren,“Initiation”3,500 copiesTodd Rundgren “The Arena Tour Live”1,000 copiesNormally, I tend to frown on albums that were once single discs being spread across two separate pieces of vinyl in a reissue. But if ever there was a case of something meriting that treatment, it’s “Initiation,” which is famously one of the longest LPs of all time, or at least longest by a major artist. Rundgren let it clock in at 67 minutes — not a misprint, vinyl hounds — in a format where 45 minutes is already considered to be pushing it for fidelity or loudness purposes. Rhino has done what a lot of Todd fans have wished for for decades and spread it across four sides, which does put a side-flipping pause in the suite that originally consumed all of Side 2… but who cares? At last, LP fans get to hear one of the greatest pop songs of all time, “Real Man,” on vinyl without turning it up to 111. As with most recent Rundgren reissues, this one has excellent liner notes from Todd expert Paul Myers, who interviewed the man himself as well as players on the album. He got the skinny on the interesting transitional point the wizard/true star was at at this point in career, with an album that’s half-pop and half-prog, to oversimplify. And he also got the skinny on why the grooves were so skinny. “I was always making more music than a single vinyl album could hold at that time,” he admits. “When they finally invented CDs, that seemed a little more natural for me… but of course I would eventually fill those up too.” Myers also wrote liner notes for a later-era live album coming out simultaneously, which we weren’t able to preview. (“Initiation,” on translucent blue vinyl, is an RSD Exclusive. “Arena Tour,” color unknown at press time, is RSD First.)
Various Artists “Sweet Relief: We Can Help”1,000 copiesHow can you help but offer relief to musicians experiencing tough times when relief is available for your ears in the form of a remarkabe compilation with tracks like these: Micheael Penn doing both “Hallelujah, I’ma Bum” and “Brother Can You Spare a Dime”; the Watkins Family Hour with Fiona Apple, on “The Object of My Affection”; Lucinda Williams tackling “Somebody Loan Me a Dime”; Peter Holsapple helpfully offering that “I Can Help,” and many more, from the likes of Richard Thompson, Peter Case, Blake Mills, Victoria Williams, Laura Veirs, Chris Pierce and other names you know or ought to. This is a severely limited pressing, at a scarce 1,000, so it may be a tough find, but they aren’t going to leave potentially benefiting indigent musicians in the lurch by making the collection quite that rare — it is arriving on CD shortly as well. (Baby blue and magenta vinyl, 2 LPs. RSD First.)
The Grays “Ro Sham Bo”1,300 copiesNo one knew the Grays were a supergroup at the time, but that;s what they turned out to be after splitting up ater releasing this lone studio album in 1994. Jason Falkner and Jon Brion went on to become cult legends, at the very least. This first-time vinyl issue includes two bonus tracks, “Outdoor Miner” and “Complicated.” The inner sleeves include some press clippings from back in the day and a liners essay by Falkner (most recently seen as a utility man for Beck and St. Vincent), who talks about the band’s formation and concludes, “Despite the fact that the band fell apart almost as fast as it was assembled, I’m still very proud of this music we made, and our flawed concept sounds pretty good 30 years on.” The pressing quantity looks disturbingly low, but this is identified as an “RSD First,” so Sony undoubtedly has further plans for reestablishing the Grays’ good name. (2 LPs, black vinyl. RSD First.)
Doc Pomus “Viva Doc Pomus: Songs For Elvis (The Demos)”1,700 copies U.S. (2,500 worldwide)Maybe you don’t think of Elvis Presley’s versions of “Viva Las Vegas,” “(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame” and “She’s Not You” as cover songs, and by most standards they aren’t. But here we have the original-originals, sung by Pomus himself, covering what he sent to Pervis — including some Presley rejected. Chances are you know “Clam Bake,” but not “I Walk the Muddy Road to Love,” one of those Elvis said “no thanks” to. (His loss.) Broken out from a larger Pomus CD boxed set that is in the cards, these tracks have been restored and mastered from the original acetates. (Opaque orange vinyl. RSD First.)
Various Artists, “Jazz Dispensary: Night Lights”4,000 copiesAttending RSD’s semi-annual events (there’s also one every Black Friday, in November) is like having a subscription to a great magazine, if you pick up the “Jazz Dispensary” compilations that invariably come out twice a year. Chances are you’ll know a couple of the vintage artists included and be freshly exposed to some of the others, but the compilers know what they’re doing, using those more famous teaser tracks as license to include some beautiful true obscurities. The theme of a late night escape from the city is the periodic imprint’s entry into choice cuts here from artists including Kenny Burrell, Yusef Lateef and Gene Ammonsd. Never turn down the chance to pick up one of these comps before they disappear off shelves. (Blue vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
Kenny Dorham “Blue Bossa In The Bronx: Live From The Blue Morocco”2,500 copiesResonance has another unreleased recording, this one of jazz trumpeter Dorham, with a combo that includes Sonny Red, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers and Denis Charles. The elaborate booklet includes liner notes by jazz author and scholar Bob Blumenthal, plus interviews with artists who knew or were inspired by Kenny Dorham, such as Eddie Henderson, Jeremy Pelt, Steven Bernstein, Reggie Workman, Dan Morgenstern and others. An unlimited CD edition will follow this limited LP set next weekend. (Black vinyl. RSD Exclusive.)
