Record Store Day 2024 – the full list, plus five essential albums to pick up

Someone taking a vinyl record out of the sleeve
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Record Store Day 2024 is one the most anticipated events for any music fan, and there’s no doubt that eager vinyl record collectors have been preparing for this day since the full Record Store Day list was dropped in February.

What is Record Store Day 2024?

records

(Image credit: Shutterstock.com)

Record Store Day dates back to 2007, when a small team of US indie record store owners got together to give vinyl a then much-needed injection of publicity. Now a global annual event, 'RSD' sees a range of special edition record pressings go on sale at record stores – though this year a Discogs partnership will also let you buy some of the vinyl online after the event. Want the full list of this year's special edition releases? Head to the Record Store Day website or go to the full list at the end of this page. But only once you've checked out our pick of the highlights...

The event takes place on Saturday April 20 and will see music fans around the world flocking to their local record shops to score exclusive pressings and region-specific LPs. And with Discogs’ partnership with Record Store Day, you’ll have two chances to partake in this year’s event.

Despite the queen of vinyl variants, Taylor Swift, not making an appearance in this year’s list, there’s a plethora of other albums, soundtracks, and live recordings that will be available as limited editions. But a word of caution; most record stores work on a first come first serve basis, so it’s wise to check your local store’s opening times and plan to queue accordingly. 

To celebrate one of the most exciting days in music, I’ve compiled a list of five albums from this year’s Record Store Day list that are essential for any music lover’s library. Not only are these albums great from beginning to end, but they’ve each had a significant impact on fans and culture alike...

Our top picks

Rumours, Fleetwood Mac (1977)  

Fleetwood Mac Rumours picture disc for record store day

(Image credit: Record Store Day)
  • Format: LP Picture Disc / 7,500 copies

Rumours was the second album I bought on vinyl after Lorde’s Pure Heroine, not because I was a huge Fleetwood Mac fan at the time, but because it’s an album I knew was quintessential to any collection. 

This album was conceived at a time when the band’s members couldn’t bear to be in the same room as each other. Love complications between Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham served as one of the driving forces behind the album’s brutally honest lyricism in songs like Dreams and Second Hand News, alongside John and Christine McVie's divorce. 

Its raw emotion is the reason why it’s still loved by music fans nearly 50 years after its release, and at Record Store Day 2024, it’s being released once again but in picture disc format. 

Live at SoFi Stadium, The Weeknd (2023)  

A Record Store Day 2024 pressing on Live at SoFi Stadium by The Weeknd (2023)

(Image credit: Record Store Day)
  • Format: 3 x LPs / 7,500 copies

Dawn FM was one of the most memorable albums of 2022, but it was The Weeknd’s sold-out After Hours til Dawn stadium tour that showed his powerhouse status. 

Live albums can be hit or miss, depending on how the artist plays around with the arrangement of their studio songs – but Live at SoFi Stadium is a live album I find myself reverting back to now and then. Not only is the setlist packed with catchy oldies like The Hills and Wicked Games, but its songs like Sacrifice that show how hard a song can hit when played live. That’s all down to its responsive bass and elongated intro that perfectly builds suspension before the beat drops.  

Paranoid, Black Sabbath (1970) 

The Record Store Day 2024 pressing of Black Sabbath's Paranoid

(Image credit: Record Store Day 2024)
  • Format: LP / 4,000 copies

The oldest entry in our list comes from Black Sabbath and their second studio album Paranoid, which is regarded as one of the most influential albums in heavy metal. And it’s back for Record Store Day 2024, over 50 years since its release on a vibrant pink splatter vinyl. 

Much like Rumours, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid has cemented itself as a vinyl record staple but for its own reasons – one being that it set the gold standard for the heavy metal genre. It houses several of Black Sabbath’s most credited singles from the title track, to Iron Man and War Pigs, which still make for great additions to blockbuster movie soundtracks.  

Tough Love, Jessie Ware (2014) 

Jessie Ware Tough Love white Record Store Day pressing

(Image credit: Record Store Day)

While I lean more towards Ware’s neo-disco and funk records What’s Your Pleasure? (2020) and That! Feels Good (2023), those albums would not exist if it weren’t for her early work. 

The production on Tough Love is very early-to-mid 2010s coded, but the subtlety of funky bass guitars and string accompaniments hint at the direction Jessie Ware has been headed all this time. For Record Store Day 2024, Ware brings you the 10th anniversary edition of the album, featuring 2 LPs pressed on solid white vinyl with bonus tracks.  

Cracker Island, Gorillaz (2023) 

Gorillaz Cracker Island pink Record Store Day pressing

(Image credit: Record Store Day)
  • Format: 2 x LP / 8,500 copies

2023 didn’t live up to the albums that 2022 gave us, but Gorillaz’s eighth studio album Cracker Island was one of my saving graces that year – after Lana Del Rey and Caroline Polacheck, of course. 

Cracker Island is very much an ‘LA-themed’ album, with topics such as technology, influencer culture, and the internet building the foundation of the album’s message. But it’s the album’s features that make it a stand-out record, one that invites the musical influences of funkier artists like Thundercat and Tame Impala, not to forget the legendary Stevie Nicks on one of my favorite songs, Oil. 

The deluxe edition of Cracker Island is out this Record Store Day, with six additional tracks and alternative cover art pressed on pink and magenta vinyl.  

Record Store Day 2024: the full list

Looking to scour the full list of special edition pressings for Record Store Day 2024? You can find it below. There are hundreds of offerings to leaf through, including cassettes and picture discs alongside vinyl. So click the 'read more' button and use the alphabetical ordering to see what's on offer from your favorite artist... 


100 Gecs – Snake Eyes: 10" Picture Disc 

10000 Maniacs – Playing Favorites: LP 

101 Strings – Astro-Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000: LP 

1975, The – The 1975 Live At Gorilla: LP 

86TVs – You Don't Have To Be Yourself: 10" EP 

94 East Featuring Prince – The Legendary Recordings, 1975-1985: LP 

Aggrovators – Dubbing at King Tubbys: LP

Aggrovators – Dubbing At King Tubbys Vol 2: LP

Ahmad Jamal – Live At Bubba's: LP

Air – Kelly Watch The Stars: 12" Picture Disc

You might also like

Editorial Associate

Rowan is an Editorial Associate and Apprentice Writer for TechRadar. A recent addition to the news team, he is involved in generating stories for topics that spread across TechRadar's categories. His interests in audio tech and knowledge in entertainment culture help bring the latest updates in tech news to our readers.