Spring is fast approaching, and with it, some of the favorite fruits of vinyl enthusiasts—the rare releases of Record Store Day. The annual event will take place at music shops across the globe on April 21, but 500 exclusive, limited, or first-run releases have already been announced.
These LPs, EPs, and singles will only be available (in limited quantities) at record stores the day of the event. Typically, the "first-run" releases will be more widely available several weeks later. Presumably, in time, you’ll also be able to dig for these on Reverb LP.
While you can find the full list on the Record Store Day website, here’s a few of the 500 that caught our eye.
The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend was a misnomer upon its original release in 1971, just months after the soul singer’s untimely death. Produced by Curtis Mayfield, it wasn’t a hit at the time but contributed greatly to hip-hop. The album’s standout "Hard Times" has been sampled for songs from A Tribe Called Quest, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and many more. This Record Store Day exclusive reissue is a two-LP set that includes an album’s worth of unreleased instrumentals being released on vinyl for the first time.
Browse Baby Huey Records on Reverb LP ››
As co-leader of Big Star alongside Alex Chilton, Chris Bell’s reputation as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer has continued to rise, with the continued interest in the power-pop band and Bell’s first and only solo album I Am the Cosmos. Originally recorded in 1975 at the Chateau d’Hérouville, the album wasn’t released until 1992. This Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch single of the title track will be limited to a quantity of 1,300 and feature a new gatefold sleeve and booklet.
Browse Chris Bell Records on Reverb LP ››
This is the debut album of Pink Floyd, recorded by Beatles engineer Norman Smith at the birth of British psychedelic rock. It’s famously the only Pink Floyd album to feature the contributions of then-bandleader and songwriter Syd Barrett. This Record Store Day exclusive reissue is in the original mono format. Only 6,000 LPs will pressed.
Browse Pink Floyd Records on Reverb LP ››
Originally released in 2006 as a limited-edition three-CD set titled Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, these editions separate each disc into its own standalone two-LP sets. Brawlers is the more rock and blues-based affair. Bawlers, fittingly, has the sentimental ballads, and Bastards is Waits at his most free-wheeling and strange. Each release is limited to a quantity of 4,500.
Browse Tom Waits Records on Reverb LP ››
Trumpeter Bunk Johnson got his start during the birth of jazz at the turn of the 19th century, but his contributions to the history of New Orleans brass bands wouldn’t be widely recognized until years later, with the 1939 release of the Jazzmen anthology. By taking stories Johnson spun as hard fact, that book helped make him a living legend, though some of his remembrances have been questioned, especially those that place him in the echelon of Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, and other pioneering greats. This two-LP collection of restored master recordings, released on vinyl for the first time, will have a quantity limited to 1,000.
Browse Bunk Johnson Records on Reverb LP ››
