What's better than getting your hands on some brand-new vinyl? Getting your hands on some brand-new special edition vinyl, that's what!
Every year, Record Store Day looks to raise support and awareness for independent record stores and the medium of vinyl itself by serving up an extensive selection of exclusive releases and limited edition records.
This year, the official Record Store Day 2026 takes place on Saturday 18th April – so mark out time that day to get down to a participating vinyl store and get your hands on some rare goodies.
Article continues belowTo mark the occasion in conjunction with our own Vinyl Week 2026 celebrations, we've highlighted some of the most enticing releases that will be going on sale this RSD 2026. You can peruse the full, lengthy list of exclusive RSD releases at your leisure – below are the ones the What Hi-Fi? team is hoping to nab and add to our vinyl collections.
- Check out the full list here at Record Store Day 2026
Live at Metropolis by Kokoroko
One thing that struck me about this year’s Record Store Day list is the sheer number of releases. The rise in popularity of RSD and vinyl in general has unsurprisingly seen an increase in artists looking to offer something to fans during the event – but it also means there are plenty of releases that perhaps aren’t that special.
Happily, Kokoroko have risen to the occasion and offered something unique. Live At Metropolis, coming out on Brownswood, the label founded by the DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson, is four songs recorded in one take and cut live to vinyl at Metropolis Studios in London.
This four-track EP features Higher from the Get The Message EP, Idea 5 from the band’s 2025 album Tuff Times Never Last, plus a never-before-released cover of The Sweet and Innocent’s Express Your Love. And a mysterious fourth track, which is always good.
One-take recordings have been released by everyone from Miles Davis to The Beatles, delivering an authentic version of a piece of music that seems like the perfect fit for a special vinyl release.
Words by Joe Cox
Discover the Record Store Day release here
Laura Marling Live at Albert Hall, Manchester
Folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling has one of those voices that I could listen to forever. Full of rich depth, maturity, stark emotion and delicacy all at once, her songs throughout the years have never failed to charm me with her bewitching, confessional and melodic power.
This double LP edition captures her acclaimed performance at Albert Hall in Manchester in 2025, with one half focused on just her solo with a guitar, while the second part features a four-piece string quartet and a choir as she performs the 2024 album Patterns in Repeat in its entirety. Beautiful.
Words by Kashfia Kabir
Discover the Record Store Day release here
Lo-Files by Bring Me The Horizon
A hi-fi magazine recommending a compilation of lo-fi covers? Sacrilege! Heresy! Fetch the pitchforks and burning torches!
It's a bit of an oxymoron, fair enough, but the idea of a 23-track album of lo-fi renditions of one of this generation's most popular heavy metal groups just seemed too quirky and incongruous to ignore.
This new collection features tracks from pretty much every era of BMTH's catalogue, from 2013’s Sempiternal through to 2024’s POST HUMAN: NeX Gen, reimagined into more laid-back reinterpretations by some of the most popular lo-fi producers around.
Has your headbanging been getting in the way of your study time? Consider this the perfect middle way for all you Type A rockers out there.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Discover the Record Store Day release here
Acoustic Hits by The Cure
The Cure are cool. Anyone who says differently can get in the sea. Acoustic sets are also cool. So what happens when you combine the two? The Cure’s Acoustic Hits record, that’s what.
It’s top of my wish list right now, as while I’ve got nearly all of the band’s long, diverse portfolio either on vinyl or CD (even the post-Bloodflowers stuff), I never got around to investing in the 2001 Greatest Hits collection, which the Acoustic Hits album was originally a companion for.
Why bother getting a greatest hits record when I already have the songs on the actual albums, right?
But with a newly remastered pressing out, one done by legendary frontman and primary composer Robert Smith, from the original 2001 cuts the band recorded at Olympic Studios in London, the timing feels right to complete my collection.
The album features alternative takes on most of The Cure’s classics. These include a rather splendid reimagining of Friday I’m in Love – the song my wife and I got married to – as well as a beautiful new version of Just Like Heaven.
Trust me, if you’re a fan of the band, you’re sure to find something you like among the 14 tracks in this Acoustic Hits vinyl.
Words by Alastair Stevenson
Discover the Record Store Day release here
Perfect Sound Forever by Pavement
Hi-fi fans will know that "Perfect Sound Forever" was the advertising slogan used by Sony and Philips when launching the first-ever CD player in 1982.
Pavement fans will know that the band's third EP of the same name has never undergone a re-pressing since it its original release in 1991, and this special 10-inch white vinyl edition includes seven early tracks from one of the best US bands to come out of that early '90s underground indie/alt rock scene.
These tracks capture Pavement's early sound that helped them achieve cult status, with heavy distorted guitars, somewhat sardonic half-sung/half-spoken vocals, and a raw, lo-fi sound that became entangled with 90s slacker culture. Home is my personal favourite.
Words by Kashfia Kabir
Discover the Record Store Day release here
God's Son by Nas
We regularly give Nas' seminal classic Illmatic a spin when putting a new turntable's talents to the test in our listening rooms, and across the hip-hop icon's reasonably extensive back catalogue, it's hard to find many duds.
Inspired by Nas' struggles following the death of his mother, God's Son is one of his most personal and emotive records, shrinking the lens down from the struggles of black urban life and class consciousness to something smaller and more intimate, but no less effective.
2026's special edition is the first colour pressing outside of the US, described by Record Store Day as "a record that has scarcely been available in Europe since 2002". Owning a Nas vinyl album is cool, but owning a Nas vinyl album that's historically been super tough to get hold of is super cool.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Discover the Record Store Day release here
KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, HUNTR/X Edition
Look, I want the goodies.
Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters is a global phenomenon and now an Oscar winner for its hit single Golden, and I have been utterly charmed by the music and the animation of the film: a fun, fast-paced story of warring K-Pop bands blended with Korean folklore and supernatural elements, and the triumph of friendship.
I've had my eye on the standard vinyl for ages, but its price felt quite steep. With the RSD 2026 release, you get plenty of extra goodies to make it worthwhile: a fold-out poster, sticker sheet, snapshot cards (3 of 12 versions), and a 'special effect' vinyl featuring original art by one of the film's artists, Marion Bordeyne. Her neon-splashed artwork is gorgeous, and I can't wait to get my hands on this exclusive release.
Words by Kashfia Kabir
Discover the Record Store Day release here
From Bebop to Blue by Miles Davis
We know there are jazz and blues fiends who will sniff out collectibles like pigs hunting for truffles, and no special editions are more worth seeking out than those produced by the mind and mouth of the legendary Miles Davis.
From Bebop To Blue offers a silver and black triple vinyl package of three LPs which track the younger Davis' journey to becoming the titan he would eventually come, featuring the likes of Boplicity, So What and All Blues.
The whole set features exclusive text and specially integrated photos, as well as key dates, places and personnel behind each track. A proper collector's gem aimed quite unashamedly at enthusiasts and collectors alike.
Words by Harry McKerrell
Discover the Record Store Day release here
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