Tracking Angle's Guide to Record Store Day 2026

Prepare to open your wallets, this is the best RSD list in ages

Two weeks ago, Record Store Day announced the list of special releases for independent record shops on Saturday, April 18. The past few years have been mostly underwhelming aside from archival jazz releases, but the 2026 RSD list is easily the best since 2020. Sure, there are still needless 7”’s of album tracks, Doors cash grabs, and zoetrope picture discs, though thankfully that’s balanced out by interesting archival projects and reissues of deserving albums that haven’t already been reissued to death. Without further ado, here’s our guide to some Record Store Day 2026 releases worth seeking out.

Various releases from Resonance Records, Elemental Music, and Time Traveller: Jazz listeners, you might as well mail your wallet to reissue producer Zev Feldman, who’s prepared a whole slate of archival releases across three labels. From Resonance, there are releases of Joe Henderson (quartet, February 1978, 3LP set), Ahmad Jamal (trio, March 1976, 2LP set), Yusef Lateef (quartet, June 1975, 3LP set), and Mal Waldron (trio and quartet, August 1979) live at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago. All of these releases were transferred and cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab (though others handled the restoration and mastering steps in between—George Klabin and John Koenig get the mastering credit on the Henderson record), pressed at Le Vinylist in Quebec, and packaged with the usual extensive liner notes and interviews. The Henderson and Jamal are each limited to 2000 copies, the Lateef and Waldron titles limited to 1800 copies.

Feldman’s Time Traveller imprint also has two titles this RSD. Bassist Buster Williams’ 1975 album Pinnacle, touted as “a masterful blend of spiritual jazz, post-bop, and early fusion,” will be reissued on all-analog vinyl for the first time since it’s original release. Cut by Matthew Lutthans, pressed at Optimal, housed in a Stoughton tip-on jacket, and featuring a new liner notes insert, this Pinnacle reissue is limited to 1500 copies. Additionally, Roy Hargrove’s quintet performance at the 2000 Bern Jazz Festival gets its first official release, restored and mastered by Lutthans, with an extensive booklet. This single LP is limited to 2200 copies.

Of course, it wouldn’t properly be Record Store Day if Zev Feldman wasn’t releasing some sort of Bill Evans archival recording. That comes from Elemental Music this year, in the form of the 2LP At The BBC: The Complete 1965 London Sets. Limited to 3500 copies, it’s the Jazz 625 show recorded March 19, 1965 at the BBC Television Theatre, with Evans playing alongside Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker. Left-field of that is Elemental’s release of the Cecil Taylor Unit’s Fragments: The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (3LP set, 1550 copies). Transferred from tape reels at the INA, these performances focus solely on a free improvisation piece called “Fragments Of A Dedication To Duke Ellington.” Diverting into the blues is Freddie King’s Feelin’ Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Pulsations Concert (3LP set, 2050 copies), the first ever release of the guitarist’s performance at the Jazz Pulsations Festival in Nancy, France. This was also digitized and restored from stereo reels at the INA. All three Elemental releases were again mastered and cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, though there are no pressing details on these.

John Frusciante - To Record Only Water For Ten Days: John Frusciante’s early 2000s solo albums for Warner Brothers have been in dire need of vinyl reissue treatment. At long last, his 2001 album To Record Only Water For Ten Days (the first solo album he recorded clean - he now admits that his first two solo albums in the ‘90s were recorded primarily for dope money) gets a 25th anniversary blue and orange colored vinyl 2LP reissue with four bonus tracks. It’s limited to 3000 copies for the US market. The only other official vinyl pressing, a 2017 reissue by Australian label Twelve Suns, was limited to 1500 copies and now goes for almost $300. No information on who mastered the Rhino RSD reissue, but it’s a digital home recording anyway so the significance is in the format.

Weezer - 1192: This is a big one: while sorting through his unreleased archive, original Weezer bassist Matt Sharp found a 1” multitrack reel of Weezer’s very first studio session in November 1992, with the recordings that landed them a contract for 1994’s eponymous “blue album.” To remain authentic to the original recording era’s process, Sharp and producer Joe Chicarrelli brought the tape to East/West Studios and mixed it all-analog. This Record Store Day release 1192 is cut directly from that new mixdown tape, limited to 5000 copies on gray vinyl.

The Walker Brothers - Nite Flights: After two reunion albums of easy listening covers slop, the Walker Brothers finished their GTO Records contract with 1978’s Nite Flights. Notably, this marked Scott Walker’s return to songwriting for the first time since his 1970 solo album ’Til The Band Comes In, and while the other “brothers’” contributions aren’t very good, the opening four tracks written and sung by Scott are absolutely essential. David Bowie looked up to Scott Walker, yet Scott was clearly listening to Berlin-era Bowie when making Nite Flights, which Bowie then referenced back multiple times over the years. I do not exaggerate when I say that “The Electrician” is one of the greatest compositions in human history, and also the start of Scott’s “late-period” style fully realized on 1995’s Tilt (speaking of which, the UK RSD 2024 Tilt double 45 reissue isn’t nearly as good as the single LP original, still in print in the US). Music On Vinyl reissued Nite Flights back in 2016 but it recently went out of print. Now we know why: for Record Store Day 2026, Sony will reissue it cut from the original 1/4” master tapes and pressed on clear vinyl. No word on who cut it, but I’ll compare it with my original UK pressing cut at Strawberry, which is good but could be better. Hopefully this RSD reissue is definitive. 1900 copies allocated for the US, more available in the UK. If there’s any straightforward album reissue on this year’s RSD slate that you need, it’s this one.

Masayoshi Takanaka - All Of Me and On Guitar: In recent years, Japanese jazz fusion guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka has surged in popularity; accordingly, his most popular albums have been reissued on vinyl for the first time since their original late-‘70s releases. Those reissues have only been properly distributed in Japan with a few import copies making their way over here, but that changes with RSD 2026. For the American RSD selection, his 1978 album On Guitar (originally made to coincide with a guitar technique instructional book) and his 1979 double LP compilation All Of Me will each have 2500 copies imported from Japan. Both albums are pressed on deep blue colored vinyl, and All Of Me is half-speed mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road (same metal parts as last year’s clear green vinyl reissue in Japan). These will be expensive—Bull Moose has All Of Me listed for $76, and Rough Trade will have it for $85—but they will probably sell fast.

Pink Floyd - Live From The Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975: Following its release on the Blu-ray and digital versions of the 50th anniversary Wish You Were Here, Mike Millard’s recordings of Pink Floyd live at the Los Angeles Sports Arena now get a standalone release. Carefully restored and edited by Steven Wilson, it’ll be released for RSD as a 2CD or 4LP clear vinyl set. Whether or not vinyl is beneficial or necessary for these recordings… well that’s for you to decide.

Talking Heads - The CBS/Columbia Demos: Rhino’s Talking Heads archival campaign continues with the demo sessions recorded by the original trio lineup (Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz) for CBS/Columbia in 1975. Cut across two LPs at 45rpm by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound, 7000 copies will be available in the US.

Miles Davis - The New Sounds: 2026 is the centennial of Miles Davis’ birth, and the 75th anniversary of 1951’s The New Sounds, his debut 10” LP as leader for Prestige. Craft Recordings will reissue The New Sounds in its original 10” format, cut by Jeff Powell from the original mono tapes and packaged in a Stoughton tip-on jacket (original press materials said it was cut by Kevin Gray; that has since been corrected on most outlets). Limited to 2000 copies.

David Bowie - Hallo Spaceboy EP and Excerpts from ‘Outside’: As expected, Parlophone presents more Bowie RSD product, this year for a belated 30th anniversary commemoration of 1995’s 1:Outside. The neon pink 12” Hallo Spaceboy EP features six remixes of the titular song: two by Pet Shop Boys, three by Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk, and a previously unreleased Tim Simenon remix. This is the first time all of these mixes have been on vinyl in one place. There’s also a clear vinyl reissue of Excerpts from ‘Outside’, the condensed single LP version of the album, cut half-speed at AIR Mastering from the 2021 remasters approved by Brian Eno. However, be warned that the 2021 vinyl remaster of the full 1:Outside album sounds worse than the original CD: stuffier, less present, and lacking dimensionality.

Pavement - Perfect Sound Forever: 35 years after its original release, Pavement’s 1991 10” EP Perfect Sound Forever gets its first ever repress from Matador. Limited to 2000 US copies on white vinyl, this will be worth getting since originals regularly sell for at least double the price of this upcoming RSD reissue.

John Coltrane - The Tiberi Tapes and France 1965: 2026 is the centennial of John Coltrane’s birth, and in September, Impulse will release The Tiberi Tapes, a collection of private recordings captured by Frank Tiberi, who in the early ‘60s followed Coltrane’s quartet around clubs in New York and Philadelphia. These performances were captured on Tiberi’s portable tape recorder; if previous Coltrane archival releases recorded on consumer-grade equipment are anything to go by, I wouldn’t expect too much from the sound, but there’s obviously musical/academic value in these. Ahead of the September release, Impulse will release 6000 copies of a single LP “preview” on RSD. It’s a cash grab preying on your impatience, but at least it’s relatively inexpensive (approximately $20).

Meanwhile, UK reissue label Charly Records will release the 4LP France 1965: The Complete Concerts, which capture the Coltrane Quartet’s July 1965 performances including A Love Supreme live and a pared-back version of Ascension. No information about sourcing, but might be worth a gamble for its ~$65 price; it’s nice to see these recordings finally on vinyl.

Jeff Buckley - Live À L’Olympia: Despite the limited amount of recordings he left behind, Sony still finds Jeff Buckley material that hasn’t previously been pressed on vinyl. Live À L’Olympia documents two nights in July 1995 when Buckley and his band played l’Olympia in Paris, including half the songs from Grace and covers of the MC5, Nina Simone, and Edith Piaf. Originally released in 2001, this 2LP edition marks the first ever vinyl release as well as the first time it’s been commercially released in the US (because of that, there’s also a CD reissue for RSD).

Air - Moon Safari: The Athens Concert: Air spent a year touring their classic debut Moon Safari in new arrangements for its 25th anniversary, and their first-ever live album is a recording of that tour from the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. Moon Safari: The Athens Concert is limited to 4500 copies for the US (quantities in other territories unknown).

Blur - Live At The Budokan: Originally released only in Japan or as a limited time UK fan club mail order CD, Blur’s Live At The Budokan, recorded in November 1995, gets its first ever vinyl release for RSD 2026. 2LP red vinyl in a gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves, with 2000 copies allocated for the US (and probably a larger quantity for the UK).

Bruce Springsteen - Live From Asbury Park 2024: Although already released as a Nugs.net hi-res download and on-demand CD-R, Bruce Springsteen’s show at the 2024 Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park now gets a 5LP vinyl release as well as a properly pressed 3CD set. A career-spanning three-hour concert played in front of 35,000 people said to feature Springsteen “at his dynamic best,” this live album was remastered for this release by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound. Vinyl set limited to 6050 US copies, CD limited to 3700 copies.

Ray Charles - Live In Concert: The Complete Performance: Over 60 years after the original album, Ray Charles’ 1965 Live In Concert gets its first-ever vinyl release of the complete 75-minute show, remastered by Michael Graves and cut by Jeff Powell. This RSD exclusive, limited to 900 copies (at least in the US), is pressed on tangerine colored vinyl with expanded art and liner notes plus a collectible lithograph from the poster bill.

Ryuichi Sakamoto + Danceries - The End Of Asia: 1982’s The End Of Asia saw Ryuichi Sakamoto reinterpreting some of his early compositions and medieval works with classical ensemble Danceries. This RSD 2026 release from British label Gearbox is the first vinyl reissue since the original 1982 release, and the first release outside of Japan in any format. The US allocation is 1500 copies. The recording is early PCM digital, so it’ll be interesting to hear how it compares with the (still plentiful) original pressing.

Steely Dan - Alive In America: This live album documenting Steely Dan’s mid-90s reunion tour now gets its first vinyl release from Rhino. 4000 copies for the US, with no mastering details other than the description claiming it’s “audiophile-grade.”

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby: Captain Beefheart’s 1970 album Lick My Decals Off, Baby now gets a 2LP deluxe reissue from Rhino. The original album is recut from the master tapes at Bernie Grundman Mastering, with an additional LP of previously unreleased instrumental versions and alternate takes. Limited to 3000 copies in the US.

Chet Baker - Live In Japan 1987 (Fukui): From Japanese label Solid comes two separately packaged volumes of Chet Baker’s performance in Fukui, Japan on June 6, 1987. 1000 US copies of each, at $50+ per volume. Pressed on deep blue colored vinyl, no mastering or source details; for all we know, it could be one of those “radio broadcast” things.

XTC - Live Boots - Live At Emerald City 1981: Despite many deluxe box sets and archival releases over the years, XTC hasn’t delved into their live vault very much, probably because there isn’t that much there—they stopped properly touring after frontman Andy Partridge’s breakdown in 1982. Still, there’s some live material from the early days, and RSD 2026 brings Live Boots-Live At Emerald City 1981, the first in a series of official Live Boots releases. Previously circulating as lower quality bootlegs, this recording from the club Emerald City in Cherry Hill, New Jersey will be “mastered to the highest standard supervised by Andy Partridge” and exclusively on 200g 2LP vinyl for RSD. Limited to 2500 copies.

Plenty more worthwhile Record Store Day releases this year! Look through the full list here.