Early Lines, Empty Wallets: Record Store Day April 2026 Highlights

Record Store Day started in 2007 as a modest idea conceived by a handful of independent record store owners in the U.S. who wanted to celebrate the places that kept music physical, local, and human in an increasingly digital world. The first official Record Store Day took place in April 2008, with Metallica showing up at Rasputin Music in San Francisco, and that surprise moment set the tone: this wasn’t just a sale, it was a party.

What began as a one-day thank-you to indie shops quickly snowballed. Artists started creating special releases just for the day—limited-run vinyl, weird deep cuts, live recordings, and beautiful oddities you couldn’t stream. Fans lined up early, stores hosted in-store performances, and the whole thing turned into a shared ritual for collectors and casual fans alike.

Over the years, Record Store Day went global, spreading to dozens of countries and becoming a yearly reminder that record stores aren’t just retail spaces—they’re community hubs. Even as vinyl boomed again in the 2010s and beyond, RSD kept its original spirit: celebrating discovery, conversation, and the thrill of finding something special in a crate you weren’t even planning to flip through.

At its heart, Record Store Day is still about showing up—for the music, for the stores, and for the joy of owning something that feels personal. 🎶💿

Here's a preview of what's coming in April:

A

• 13th Floor Elevators – We Are Not Live (LP) 

• A High Frequency – Summertime (12″) 

• a-ha – Analogue 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2xLP) 

• Abbey Lincoln – That’s Him (LP) 

• Addis Rockers – Warriors (LP) 

• Adorable – Sunshine Smile (12″); Homeboy (12″) 

• Adrianne Lenker – Live at Revolution Hall (3xLP) 

• Ahmad Jamal – Live at Oil Can Harry’s (LP); Live at the Jazz Showcase (2xLP) 

• Air – Moon Safari – Live Theatre Herodes Atticus, Athènes (LP) 

• Alabama 3 – Woke Up This Morning Remixes (12″) 

• Alabaster DePlume – Dear Children of Our Children, I Knew / Cremisan (LP) 

• Alannah – Red Moon (7″) 

B

• Big Sean – Detroit (2xLP; first-ever vinyl) 

• Blur – … (various exclusive editions) 

• Bob Dylan or related archival releases (various pressings) 

• Carly Rae Jepsen – Disco Darling (7″) 

• Cars, The – Heartbeat City Live (2LP) 

• Corinne Bailey Rae – Live in New York (vinyl) 

C–D

• Call On Me – Starley (RSD release) 

• doPE (Chuck D & John Densmore) – No Country For Old Men 

• Dixon / Dijon – How Do You Feel About Getting (EP) 

E–F

• Elton John – Positiva Presents: Elton John – The Remixes 

• Empire of the Sun – Walking On A Dream collector’s edition (special vinyl) 

• Fleetwood Mac – The Original Fleetwood Mac (exclusive) 

G–H

• Gigi Perez – various special editions 

• HAIM – exclusive RSD variant releases 

• Hot Chip – Selected Remixes 06-10 

J–K

• Judas Priest – Live in Los Angeles ’90 (LP) 

• KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack – Saja Boys Edition (RSD Exclusive) 

M–P

• Melanie B – Hot (vinyl) 

• Megadeth/Metal offerings – various RSD exclusives 

• Misfits – Famous Monsters (LP) 

• Motörhead – On Parole: Steve Wilson Remix (LP) + The Lost Tapes Vol. 7 (2LP) 

• Muse – Muscle Museum (EP) + Muse S/T EP 

• Paramore – All We Know Is Falling deluxe reissue (vinyl debut of rare EP) 

• Pavement – Perfect Sound Forever (10″ EP) 

• Pearl Jam – React/Respond Dark Matter Tour 7″ + book 

R–S

• RZA – Bobby Digital Presents: The Juice Crew (LP) 

• Robert Plant – Saving Grace: All That Glitters… (EP) 

• Sleep Token – Caramel single (12″ liquid-filled) 

• Slipknot – Look Outside Your Window (long-lost album) 

• Stone Temple Pilots – various exclusive pressings 

T–V

• The Cure – Greatest Hits; Acoustic Hits (War Child exclusives) 

• The Vaccines – What Did You Expect… Demos and B-sides 

• Various artists and compilations (hundreds more) covering jazz, soul, hip-hop, world music etc. 

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