I’ve been using a (highly recommended!) site called discogs.com to keep track of my music collection since 2005. It’s an entirely user-built database containing information on artists and their recordings. Its goal is “…a site with discographies of all labels, all artists, all cross-referenced. It’s getting closer every day.” Discogs also incorporates a Marketplace where you can buy and sell them.
They’ve been adding a lot of great features lately and I just stumbled upon a way to view my collection that shows the minimum, median and maximum prices paid for each release in their Marketplace. It was interesting to see what the most valuable albums are that I own. The top one wasn’t a surprise, but some of the other ones were.
My top 5 most valuable albums:
1) Danger Mouse – The Grey Album | CD | 2004 | Median sale price: $96.28 (Max price $161.41!)
This one wasn’t much of a surprise. This is a “self-released promo” that is a mash-up of two albums: music from The White Album by The Beatles and the vocals from Jay-Z’s The Black Album. Even though it was recorded without permission and was never officially released, I was able to get a copy from a UK record store when it first surfaced. I am definitely NOT a Jay-Z fan, but it’s much better when his music is replaced with Beatles samples.
2) Nathaniel Merriweather Presents Lovage - Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By | LP | 2001 | Median sale price: $65.51
This one was a surprise. It’s not one of my absolute favorites….so this info is also making want to sell off a few of the high ticket ones that I could live without.
3) Madlib Medicine Show No 5 – History of the Loop Digga | LP | 2010 | Median sale price: $55.39
Just bought this one at a record shop in Chicago in May for $25. Not bad! This is a limited edition with a 12″ disc of “extra shit” that might explain the price.
4) The Many Voices of Miriam Makeba | LP | 1960 | Median sale price: $50.00
Another surprise. Got this one when my husband’s father got rid of his old jazz record collection. He had other ones I would’ve thought would be more valuable.
5) Deltron 3030 | LP | 2000 | Median sale price: $49.28
Futuristic concious hip-hop album featuring Del The Funkee Homosapien. One of my most favorite albums EVER.
Of course, these listings also let me know which albums have definitely lost value. I had a tie for last place:
Moby – Play | CD | 1999 | Median sale price: $1.00
I can kinda see this. It’s an alright album, but everyone already owns it and it’s been overused to death in movies and commercials. However, I’ve definitely got a few others that I would think would fare worse than Moby!
Lo Fidelity Allstars – How to Operate with a Blown Mind | CD | 1999 | Median sale price: $1.00
Hmm. I always liked this one. I bought it while I was over in Europe, so listening to it will always bring me back to that trip…watched a lot of countryside roll by as I listened to it on the buses & trains.