Record Store Day drop list

Record Store Day lands on Saturday, April 18, with an official 2026 lineup of nearly 360 special releases headed to participating independent shops. (recordstoreday.com) (billboard.com) The event runs through brick-and-mortar stores, not Record Store Day’s own website, and stores choose their own orders from the list. Record Store Day says there are no pre-orders for the official titles. (recordstoreday.com) That means the annual “drop list” is less a universal catalog than a scramble shaped by local inventory. Record Store Day says most stores will not stock every title, and some will skip the special releases altogether. (recordstoreday.com) The 2026 list arrives as vinyl keeps gaining commercial weight. Billboard reported that vinyl sales topped $1 billion in 2025, citing March figures from the Recording Industry Association of America. (billboard.com) This year’s lineup mixes mainstream collector bait with deep-catalog archaeology. Billboard’s roundup singled out releases tied to The Cure, Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Buckley, while Yahoo’s picks highlighted names including Nas, Miles Davis and Pavement. (billboard.com) (yahoo.com) One of the heaviest concentrations is in archival jazz and blues. Goldmine reported that producer Zev Feldman is attached to 11 Record Store Day 2026 releases, including 10 archival titles and one rare reissue. (goldminemag.com) Record Store Day itself was created in 2007 by independent record store owners and employees, and the first event was held on April 19, 2008. The organization says nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States now take part, along with thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) The event still leans on celebrity promotion alongside collector scarcity. Billboard reported that Bruno Mars is the 2026 ambassador, and Record Store Day this week named Robert Plant a “Record Store Legend” tied to his own exclusive release, *Saving Grace: All That Glitters*. (billboard.com) (recordstoreday.com) The shopping day also spills into live events. Record Store Day’s in-store calendar lists April 18 appearances and parties in places including Princeton, New Jersey; Bloomington, Indiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston; Miami; and Portland, Oregon. (recordstoreday.com) For buyers, the practical rule is simple: check a participating store’s list, get there early on Saturday, April 18, and expect uneven stock. Record Store Day says any unsold copies may show up on store websites only after the day itself. (recordstoreday.com)