Record Store Day picks

Record Store Day returns on Saturday, April 18, with hundreds of limited releases headed to independent shops and Bruno Mars fronting the 2026 event as ambassador. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) The official Record Store Day site says the 2026 list includes more than 350 special titles, and those records are released through participating brick-and-mortar stores rather than sold by Record Store Day itself. (recordstoreday.com) (t95.com) Stores choose their own orders, the site says, so no shop is guaranteed to stock every title on the list. Record Store Day also says there are no pre-orders for these releases. (recordstoreday.com) That setup is what drives the annual lines: the event was created in 2007 by independent record store owners and employees, and the first Record Store Day was held on April 19, 2008. The organization now says about 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally take part. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) This year’s marquee pop titles include Taylor Swift’s “Elizabeth Taylor” 7-inch single and Charli XCX’s first 7-inch vinyl release of “party 4 u.” The Record Store Day listing says Charli’s pressing is limited to 8,000 copies. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) Bruno Mars is not just the face of the event. Record Store Day is also issuing “The Collaborations,” an LP tied to his ambassador role, and the listing says 11,000 copies are planned. (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) Rock and catalog buyers have their own chase titles. Record Store Day says Robert Plant will mark the day with “Saving Grace: All That Glitters,” while the Grateful Dead are on the list with “On A Back Porch, Vol. 3” and the 5-LP “Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/11/76.” (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) The Grateful Dead quantities show how uneven the hunt can be. The Record Store Day listings put “On A Back Porch, Vol. 3” at 5,500 copies and “Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/11/76” at 6,100 copies in the United States, with 7,600 worldwide for the latter. (recordstoreday.com) (recordstoreday.com) Record Store Day sorts the releases into three buckets: “Exclusive,” “First,” and “Small Run/Regional.” After Saturday, April 18, the group says stores may choose to sell leftover stock online starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) So the practical play for shoppers is simple: check a participating store’s list, ask what that shop actually ordered, and get there early on April 18 if one of the low-run titles is your target. (recordstoreday.com)