How to Know What Types of LP Records Are Valuable

Buy a good price guide. Books like "Rockin' Records" by Jerry Osborne will give you a good overview of what the general public considers to be valuable. And they're the quickest way to confirm a hunch you have about a certain record while you're rummaging through the bins.

Get to know the "moneymakers." Certain styles of music are highly sought after by collectors and listeners.

In general, any rock 'n' roll LP recorded in the 1950s, as well as many LPs in the genre recorded up until about 1964, will have some resale value. Subgenres of rock, like mid-1960s British Invasion, late '60s psychedelic and hard rock, progressive (prog) rock and 1970s classic rock, are also favorites of collectors. Punk and heavy metal are niche areas that can be very profitable; look for albums from the late '70s through the '80s.

Classic '50s R&B releases, doo wop, '60s soul and funk recordings from 1966 to 1977 also have high resale potential. For '60s recordings, look for the Motown/Gordy/Soul and Stax labels. Atlantic, Mercury, Jubilee, Keen and Brunswick are great '50s labels. Classic blues albums from the '50s and early '60s are highly collectible. Look for labels like Chess, RPM, Okeh, VeeJay and Kent ̵2; just about anything from that time period and those labels is valuable.

Jazz is another genre where there is still a lot of interest in vinyl. All '50s and '60s releases should be scrutinized. Look for these labels: Blue Note, Verve, Prestige, Riverside, Bethlehem, Columbia and Fantasy. Of particular interest are "small combo" recordings ̵2; that is, smaller groups other than big bands.

Look beyond the moneymakers. Country music isn't wildly popular among collectors, but some recordings can be very valuable. The older the better ̵2; look for recordings from the '50s through the late '60s. Some soundtracks from the '50s and '60s are collectors' items.

Believe it or not, those old classical records from the '50s and '60s are valuable. Serious collectors pay good money for NM-grade vinyl, especially recordings and pressings from Europe. Most dealers throw these in the trash, and you can usually pick them up dirt cheap. Just don't buy any albums made of low-grade vinyl.

Know what to avoid. Just about everything can be sold eventually. But put your money into things that are likely to sell sooner and for more profit. Do not spend much on genres like easy listening, holiday music, children's music, anonymous compilations, religious music or spoken word. It's not that you can't sell them, it just takes longer and they don't usually sell for as much as the main genres of interest.

Look for these rock heavyweights and buy their albums whenever you find them: Led Zeppelin, Cream, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Kiss, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, David Bowie and the Who. You just can't lose with these artists if the LPs are in good condition.

Always pick up recordings by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. These two artists are at the top of the record seller's list because of their enormous popularity, the huge number of releases available and the very high values of some of their records. You really have to do your research to know your way around their catalogs due to all the mono/stereo variations and the multiple times over the years their record companies re-released everything they did. For a serious undertaking of Elvis' records, you'll need "Presleyana VI" (or higher) by Jerry Osborne, a comprehensive book devoted the King's LPs, EPs and 45s.

Keep sight of the big picture. Don't automatically pass on collections that have some undesirable stuff, but do calculate whether the whole lot is worth the expense when you average out how much you're paying for each record. A group of 200 records with only 40 "good" ones may still be worth buying if the price is right.