

Heartache Souvenirs / Chicken Shack

Power-House Records

$4,414 William PowellPower-House Records$4,414



Love Is The Key

Manhattan Records

$4,250 Dynamic FiveManhattan Records$4,250



Black Album

Warner Bros. Records

$2,250 PrinceWarner Bros. Records$2,250



All About Money

New-Ark Records Inc.

$2,137 Spontaneous OverthrowNew-Ark Records Inc.$2,137



Age Of Individualism

SMOA Productions

$1,890 T.J. Hustler, Metaphysical Synthesized OrchestraSMOA Productions$1,890



Attitude, Belief & Determination

Taurean Connection

$1,603 Martin Dumas Jr.Taurean Connection$1,603



De La Viande Pour Le Disco?

Banana Split ‎

$1,496 VariousBanana Split ‎$1,496



Day By Day

Westudio

$1,282 ChianeseWestudio$1,282



Z Record

Underground Resistance

$1,282 Underground ResistanceUnderground Resistance$1,282



Analogue Bubblebath 5

Rephlex

$1,251 Aphex TwinRephlex$1,251



Hooked On Your Love

NIA Records

$1,063 GinaNIA Records$1,063



Syro

Warp Records

$975 Aphex TwinWarp Records$975



Synthesizing - Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat

His Master's Voice

$800 Charanjit SinghHis Master's Voice$800



Hyperspace Sound Lab

Flourescent Forest Rec. ‎

$700 ClarenceFlourescent Forest Rec. ‎$700



Mystery Of Love

Alleviated Records

$641 Mr. FingersAlleviated Records$641



After Hours

Jet Star Records

$641 DJ LewiJet Star Records$641



LFO

Warp Records

$599 LFOWarp Records$599



Music Has The Right To Children

Warp Records

$575 Boards Of CanadaWarp Records$575



Lego Feet

Skam

$550 Lego FeetSkam$550



Amon Tobin

Ninja Tune

$534 Amon TobinNinja Tune$534



Tortured Journey

Precision Records

$504 Le Melange' Inc. Featuring ChinaPrecision Records$504



The Loft - Volume Two

Nuphonic

$500 David MancusoNuphonic$500



Sarcastic Study Masters Volume 2

Sarcastic

$500 DJ HarveySarcastic$500



Girlcatcher

Hippie Dance

$481 Pachanga BoysHippie Dance$481



500 / 600 / 1200 EP

Bloody Fist Records

$445 NasenblutenBloody Fist Records$445



Drukqs

Warp Records

$427 Aphex TwinWarp Records$427



Elevate Special Projects 2

Elevate

$426 Daniel BellElevate$426



Feed-Forward

Sandwell District

$417 Sandwell DistrictSandwell District$417



Dance Tracs

Alleviated Records

$400 Disco-DAlleviated Records$400



Super Lover

Express Records

$399 Kerri ChandlerExpress Records$399



8

Forum

$397 Prince of DenmarkForum$397



Ostgut Ton | Zehn

Ostgut Ton

$379 VariousOstgut Ton$379



Minimal Nation

Axis

$378 Robert HoodAxis$378



Sketches

Sound Signature

$375 Theo ParrishSound Signature$375



In The Light Of The Miracle

Talkin' Loud

$375 Arthur RussellTalkin' Loud$375



Pod

Virus Recordings

$300 Ed Rush & Optical, FierceVirus Recordings$300

Discogs has not only changed the way records are bought and sold, it's changed the way many people think about music. Launched 17 years ago, the site now has over 8 million releases listed, making it an unrivalled and invaluable source of information. It's likely the world's biggest secondhand music marketplace, with almost 5 million sales in 2016 alone.Discogs has given RA exclusive access to its sales history. We've trawled through the data and highlighted some of the most expensive dance floor records ever sold through the site. From the incredibly rare, to curveball curiosities, these records tell us a lot about collectors' mindsets and the perpetual search for the perfect beat.Expensive records were the lifeblood of northern soul, and back in the day new discoveries were closely guarded secrets. This lead to crafty tricks. A favourite was the "cover up," where DJs placed fake labels over the original. This meant that for some time, William Powell'swas believed to beby Bobby Jason. Supposedly only ten copies ofexist; Zeito Freitas , the owner of the world's largest record collection, has a copy.is the most expensive northern soul record sold on Discogs, but it's not even close to the priciest ever. In 2009, Frank Wilson's, of which there are apparently only two copies in the world, went for £25,742 Facts about Dynamic Five'sare hard to come by. The soul group were signed to United Artists, one of the era's most successful labels. Most likely, the record was deleted before ever being distributed. Whatever the case,is now almost impossible to find and has only appeared on the secondhand market a handful of times in the past decade. Whenever it has, it's fetched upwards of $3,000.was intended as the follow up to. But before its release, all copies were destroyed barring a handful of promos that slipped out to press. The theories as to why Prince pulled the project are often colourful. One even suggested that Prince decided he didn't like the album after he had a negative reaction to MDMA. Whatever the truth, original copies ofare among the most desirable records in the world.was released on a tiny DIY label, New-Ark Recordings. It was privately pressed by the artists and distributed locally around New Jersey. Many privately pressed records are mediocre at best, butis fantastic. A strange slice of drum machine-led soul music, it sounds unlike anything of its era. The limited nature and truly unusual sound of this record has inflated its price to remarkable levels.is a homemade synth wave record partially performed through a ventriloquist's dummy. It's also one of the strangest records committed to wax. The band's lead singer, Tim Jones, was a Vietnam veteran who performed in funk bands before this project. Notably, the record's packaging is even odder than the music: two pieces of white textured cardboard are bound by yarn on the spine. Supposedly only 50 to 100 copies ofwere ever produced.The price of sought-after vinyl often doesn't correlate with the music's quality. But this isn't the case with Martin L Dumas Jr.'s. The record is impossibly uplifting and, until recently, impossibly hard to find. Reissued by BBE,has now deservedly found a global audience.Darlin' are to electronic music what The Quarrymen are to pop. Featuring Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, who would of course go on to form Daft Punk, and Laurent Brancowitz of Phoenix, in 1993 the group released an EP of noisy indie.unwittingly coined one of the best-known names in electronic music when they called it "daft punky trash." This 1995 cassette-only compilation features two obscure and untitled Darlin' tracks. The highlight sees the indie group throwing down their guitars in favour of drum machines and house-diva yelps, a template that would soon lead two of the group to global stardom.This is the most expensive Italo disco record ever sold on Discogs. It's not very good, but don't let that stop you from dropping a grand on it.is probably the most lusted-after piece of Detroit techno vinyl. It was intended to be played by Underground Resistance members, as alluded to with a note on the label: "For UR DJ Assault Use Only." The record came with no tracklist and most of the music here is still of mysterious origin. Only one track, "Soul Power," has been identified, credited to Mike Banks under his 038 alias. The other music has popped up on a couple of UR-related mix CDs.This was intended to be the fifth release in Richard D. James's, but at the last moment James decided against the release. Only 20 test presses were made, which were sent to customers who had issues with another order from James's label. The unconventional distribution, and lack of information on the record, has made this one of Aphex Twin's most elusive releases.Gina'sis a curious one. It's a cover version of The Fantastic Aleems'. The original version, which featured Leroy Burgess and Luther Vandross, was a Paradise Garage anthem and is as good as disco gets; Gina's obviously inferior version goes for a hundred times the price.This vinyl version ofwas limited to 200 copies and only available via ballot. It comes in a box emblazoned with Richard D. James' face and contains a screen print from the vinyl's mother plate.Charanjit Singh'ssounds like it came from an alternate dimension. It's proto acid house, full of 303 squeals and fast-paced 909 drum beats, made by an Indian visionary. Unbelievably, it predated Chicago house releases by some years. This kink in the dance music space-time continuum makes this one of the most fascinating and historically important releases on this list.Driftwood has amassed a cult following among a small group of music fans. The American deep house label had a subtle earworm quality that's made it popular with lovers of late-night sounds. Jeremy, AKA Jean Frank Cochois, released Driftwood's most popular releases. This dub-influenced house track was only pressed as one of 100. New versions of the record rarely come on the market, and when they do they shift for big money.Clarence G was the first alias of James Stinson, who later formed Drexciya with Gerald Donald. Released a year before Dexciya's debut EP,, this record was the basis for a sound that continues to enthral electro fans decades later.This first run of Mr Finger'sis an artefact of house music history. The B-side dub, different from the more readily available "Mystery Of Dub" version on D.J. International, is the main draw for dance music historians.DJ Lewi'sis the holy grail of rare jungle. Jet Star, who released, were a prolific ragga label in the '80s. When jungle arrived the label jumped on the sound, producing some excellent ragga / breakbeat hybrids. This release, featuring UK dancehall legend Daddy Freddy, perfectly captures the atmosphere of early '90s pirate radio.What could be better than a copy of LFO's rave classic? How about an ultra-rare acetate version with a mysterious untitled B-side?is as good as electronic music albums get. This promotional cassette came with an unusual plastic case and is a serious collector's item for Boards Of Canada fans.is arguably the first Autechre album. Released two years before the duo's debut on Warp records, the album had no title or artist information, but it drips with addictive, bleepy productions. It signalled why Autechre would soon become one of electronic music's best loved acts.Richie Hawtin loves a concept. This release pushes the luxury box-set idea to extremes, with 15 CDs, a DVD and a booklet personalised with the buyer's name on the first page.This box set is constructed with two 1/2-inch thick plywood sheets, which bolt together via wing nuts.This acid house track was produced by cult Chicago producer Marcus Mixx, an artist whose records have become increasingly desirable on the secondhand market.was the only release on Precision Records, a label that supposedly pressed this vinyl without the artist's permission.All Moodymann releases are collectable, but perhaps none more so than this release from 2000. Released on a purple disc, some copies were given out at Moodymann's live shows and only a few are known to be in circulation. The rarity of the record is a shame as the dreamlike vibe ofdeserves to be more than a footnote in Kenny Dixon Jr's career.David Mancuso's selections inspired a generation of DJs and the dance music scene as we know it. This compilation, released in 2000, is not hugely rare, but that didn't stop someone dropping $500 on it.Mix CDs don't get much better than. This Balearic-tinged session galvanised an army of track ID seekers and helped grow the myth of DJ Harvey as one of the ultimate diggers. Only 1000 copies were originally made, and even represses now go for over $100."Time" is an undeniable end-of-night anthem. But if you want a copy on vinyl you need to purchase one of the three limited edition versions ofHardcore breaks are an acquired taste, and this thrashing release from Newcastle, Australia is a cult favourite among fans of this harder-than-nails act. A few of the cuts verge on gabber, but the lead track, "Skullbash," is a surprisingly palatable rave banger.This audiophile vinyl version of Aphex Twin's landmark album was limited to 1000 copies. Unsurprisingly, collectors pay big bucks for it.Dance music connoisseurs have always gravitated towards Daniel Bell's classy minimal house. This 1998 release was limited to 750 copies, and is up there with his best. "Subterranean" was the opening track on Sascha Dive's excellent 2008 RA podcast is up there with the best techno albums. It's also among the priciest. It established Regis, Function, Female and Silent Servant as one of the most important collectives in electronic music. Sadly, demand for the vinyl version, complete with a bonus 7-inch and a fanzine of Silent Servant artwork, quickly outstripped supply.One of Larry Heard's more obscure releases, these raw acid cuts have gained mythical status among house heads. A Clone reissue cooled some of the crazy prices on this one, but originals can still go for serious cash.Few artists arrive as fully formed as Kerri Chandler.was Chandler's first foray into house music after producing hip-hop, but it immediately showed his talent for slamming drums and emotive melodies. (Tragically, the lead track, "Get It Off," was inspired by the murder of his girlfriend.) 27 years later, it's hard to find a better house record.If someone told you that you could quadruple your investment in just 13 days, you'd expect the scheme to be illegal, or at best, immoral. But that's exactly what happened with. Released on 9th December 2016 for €100, a near-mint copy was sold for $397 on 22nd December.Only 100 of these limited-edition box sets were made, and they could only be purchased through the Ostgut site or in Berghain. The box contained ten vinyl, three CDs, a memory stick and artwork by the esteemed German artist and club culture enthusiast Wolfgang Tillmans.Robert Hood more or less invented minimal techno, and hisEP was a genre-defining record. This alternate pressing, containing two exclusive tracks in collaboration with Jeff Mills, is one of the most prized techno records on the planet.There's a place in hell reserved for speculators who flip new releases on the secondhand market. Theo Parrish'sis one record that's been hyped by profiteers. Originally released in 2010, a 2016 repress ofwas controversially priced at €75. Considering market forces, that punchy price tag actually seems reasonable.The combo of Arthur Russell, Danny Krivit and Tony Smith encapsulates the best of NYC disco. As such, these rare mixes ofhave mythological status among disco nerds. The original version was recorded in 1982 and first appeared on Russell's 1994 album. The remixes were scheduled to come out on Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay's Talkin' Loud label; 100 promo copies were made but the full release never materialised.For fans of headsy minimal grooves, it doesn't get much better than Petre Inspirescu's debut album. The record hasn't sold below $150 in years.Only five testpress copies of this drum & bass roller were ever made, making this record only marginally more available than a one-off dubplate.And finally...As this list show, a record's price isn't always indicative of its quality. Here are 60 great records for under $5 , selected by RA staff.