1-5 Most Valuable Records

What records complete our list of the Top 5 Most Valuable Records? Find out below.

5. Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You?" (1965)
This seven-inch Motown single was never released to the public, but it sold to a Scottish collector for 15,000 pounds (now about $30,000) in 1999. That's the most ever paid for a seven-inch single. Soul music is alive and well in the UK, where it's known as Northern Soul and is as popular as dance music in clubs. Wilson's song did reach the public on reissues and CDs [sources: Jahsonic and Northern Soul].

double fantasy
© David Mcgough/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Lennon's "Double Fantasy" is probably the most valuable record. Lennon is shown here with wife Yoko Ono shortly before his shooting.

4. Bob Dylan's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album (1963)
A copy of this album, in mint condition and with the original track listing, sold for $35,000. Dylan initially included four songs that he later thought were too old-fashioned. Although the songs were quickly replaced, some copies of the original album were released. If you hope to find one of these, look for a cover that has a "Stereo/360° Sound" logo and a sticker that reads "Singing His Sensational Hit, Blowin' in the Wind" [sources: Audioracle and The Guardian].

3. Beatles' "Yesterday and Today" album (1966)
A copy of this album sold for $38,800 in 1996, all because of its so-called butcher cover and pristine condition. The Beatles had posed in white butcher smocks, draped with pieces of meat and parts of plastic dolls. John Lennon insisted that this photo be used for the U.S album cover. The record was on sale for only one day in limited areas -- and everyone hated the cover. Capitol Records pulled the albums and glued on a more acceptable cover. Usually albums with the butcher cover sell for $150 to $7,500. This one went for much more because it was monaural, sealed and in mint condition [sources: The Guardian and Jahsonic].

2. Acetate disk by the Quarrymen (1958)
With "That'll Be the Day" on one side and "In Spite of All the Danger" on the other, this disk is worth an estimated $180,000 to $200,000. But it's in Paul McCartney's private collection, so don't expect it to be sold. The sole result of the group's first recording session remained in the hands of pianist John Duff Lowe until he sold it to McCartney in 1981. Two Quarrymen, Lowe and drummer Colin Hanton, left the group, but McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon found fame as the Beatles. McCartney had the songs on the disk digitally remastered and copies pressed for friends. Each of those records is worth $20,000 [source: BeatlesSource.com].

1. John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy" album (1980)
This album reportedly sold for more than $400,000 in 1999. But if you have a copy, don't consider it gold. Only one is worth this much. Mark David Chapman asked John Lennon to autograph it on December 8, 1980, outside the Dakota, Lennon's New York apartment building. Five hours later, Chapman returned to shoot Lennon fatally. The album was used in the court case and has Chapman's fingerprints on the cover as well as Lennon's signature. The album was on sale again in 2008 [sources: New York Times, Moments in Time].

Don't expect the Top 10 list to stay the same. The number of avid record collectors is growing, and auction prices continue to rise. And as prices rise, newer albums and more diverse styles of music are becoming more valuable. Rock, pop, country, jazz, classical and blues records all have topped the $15,000 mark.

For lots more information about record collecting and related topics, check out the links on the next page.