You might be sitting on a goldmine if your music collection boasts any of these gems
If you’re one of the few people who still have a stack of CDs gathering dust in a dark corner, it seems you could be sitting on a gold mine.
Most of us have gotten rid of the vast majority of our physical music collections due to the fact that we can play any track with a few taps of our fingers thanks to our smartphones, but it seems we might have shot ourselves in the foot doing this.
That’s because loads of people are reverting back to CDs and vinyl records to evoke some kind of nostalgia.
As a result, collectors are willing to put their hands deep in their pocket for rare copies – with some forking out thousands to get their hands on iconic albums.
I bet that’s music to your ears as we approach the notoriously expensive festive season, isn’t it?
So, you really ought to go and have a look what hidden gems you’ve got stashed away in the loft, as certain CDs could be worth up to £8,000.
And while you’re rooting around among the Christmas decorations, keep an eye out for any DVDs you’ve got lying around too, as you could earn hundreds by flogging those to film fanatics too.
Bruce Springsteen – The Future of Rock ‘n’ Roll
You could earn hundreds if you have one of these CDs by ‘The Boss’ (Manny Carabel/Getty Images)
You could earn a tidy amount of cash if you have a certain CD knocking about which legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen created.
The 75-year-old from New Jersey has released 21 studio albums during his illustrious career, but it’s a lesser known 16-track disc which can fetch you a few quid.
Back in 1988, Springsteen – who is famously known as ‘The Boss’ – released a promo-only double CD set in Japan which was titled ‘The Future of Rock ‘n’ Roll’.
It’s apparently one of the hardest things to find by fans of the star, hence why it’s sold for as much as £1,100 in the past, according to MyLondon.
Currently, a copy of ‘The Future of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is being flogged for £907 by one user on eBay.
Prince – My Name Was Prince
Prince fans can also earn a pretty penny (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Those who have this Prince compilation tucked away somewhere could have a pretty penny coming their way.
Like Springsteen, the ‘Raspberry Beret’ singer, who died in 2016 at the age of 57, also released a small amount of copies of a 12-track album in Japan in 1993.
Sounds like that was the place to be if you wanted to score some exclusive tracks, eh?
Prince dropped ‘My Name Was Prince’ in the hopes of promoting his other projects.
Due to the fact only 50 copies were released, it’s incredibly rare, and collectors have reportedly forked out up to £5,000 for one in the past.
But if you’re looking for a bit of a discount, there’s one currently being sold for £1,992 on Discogs.
Paris Hilton – Paris
If you have this somewhere, it might be worth a pretty penny ((Photo by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)
Some people might be surprised to see the one and only Paris Hilton in this list, which suggests you clearly haven’t listened to the magic that was her debut album.
Aptly titled ‘Paris’, the 2006 project is now considered a very important part of pop history by fans – thanks to Banksy.
The elusive street artist decided to make a bit of mischief after the release of her album, and planted 500 copies of his own version of it in various shops across the UK.
Instead of the socialite’s vocals on her 11 songs, this CD featured a slew of Danger Mouse remixes, while he also replaced the inner sleeve with his own creation.
As you can imagine, Banky’s Midas Touch has sent the worth of these adapted ‘Paris’ albums through the roof.
That’s why they are being sold for up to £8,000, although others have earned as little as £750.
One lucky owner of it is currently got their copy on the market for £9,450.
Now That’s What I Call Music 4
The fourth edition of Now That’s What I Call Music! is a hot commodity for collectors (Amazon)
Brits lived and breathed Now Music CDs throughout the noughties, although I think we can all agree some were a lot better than others.
There are more than 100 albums in the series now, but it’s one of the earliest editions which has got collectors rubbing their hands together.
So if you have one of the 500 original copies of the original ‘Now That’s What I Call Music! 4’ which were released in 1984, you could have a nice windfall coming your way.
Featuring 15 songs including the likes of ‘It’s A Hard Life’ by Queen and ‘Jump’ by The Pointer Sisters, it’s full of some seriously great tunes.
The CD was re-released in 2019, so this one is not exactly hard to come by, but the original discs can still earn up to £400 online.
Coldplay – Safety
Coldplay’s first EP could also earn you a few quid (David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
A couple of months after finally settling on a name for the band, Coldplay released their first EP in May 1988.
The Brit group – made up of frontman Chris Martin, guitarist Guy Berryman, bassist Jonny Buckland, and drummer Will Champion – recorded three tracks for ‘Safety’ and its release was funded by their manager, Phil Harvey.
He is said to have received a box with 500 copies of it, which he then gave away to various records labels as well as family and friends.
However, 150 of them were sold on the open market – making it a very valuable album today.
These CDs have gone for up to £2,000 as Coldplay collectors compete to get their hands on one – so go and double check your cupboards, lads.
Nirvana – Pennyroyal Tea
Copies of Nirvana’s single are very rare (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Nirvana fans who snapped up one of the band’s 1994 CDs also have the opportunity to rake in a decent bit of cash.
In April of that year, American rockers Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl dropped a single titled ‘Pennyroyal Tea’, which was an alternate version of the song which was on their 1993 album, ‘In Utero’.
But tragically, the lead singer took his own life within days of its release, prompting a recall of the CD.
However, a few copies managed to survive despite the summons, making them quite the hot commodity among collectors.
People with a ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ disc can pocket between £1,500 and £2,000 for it.
Michael Jackson – Smile
The King of Pop, pictured in 1997, cancelled his single ‘Smile’ at the last minute (Paul Bergen/Redferns)
Music connoisseurs will pay big bucks to get one of Michael Jackson‘s rarest projects.
The late singer, who died in 2009 aged 50, has an army of fans ready to wreak havoc on their finances to procure some of the King of Pop’s memorabilia.
So it’s no wonder copies of his unreleased 1997 single ‘Smile’ are being sold for up to £2,000 online.
It never hit the shelves properly as it was cancelled at the last minute, meaning copies were withdrawn and destroyed just days before it was set to drop.
But once again, a few managed to prevail and are now fetching thousands.
David Bowie – Sound + Vision
Bowie fans could also rake in a bit of cash (Armando Gallo/Getty Images)
Music legend David Bowie also has a CD which collectors consider to be like gold dust.
The late Brit icon, 69, produced a box set titled ‘Sound + Vision’ in 1989, which featured a slew of his greatest hits in their original forms, as well as boasting demos, live versions of tracks and even one song in German.
As well as this, the basswood and birch box it came in also included a video disc and a 72-page booklet.
Reports state more than 200,000 copies were sold in a year.
Which might explain why ‘Sound + Vision’ is going for very varied prices online – from about £20 to hundreds of pounds.
Either way, every little helps for your rainy day fund.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photos
