Record Store Day drops

Record Store Day returns on Saturday, April 18, with an official 2026 list of nearly 360 special titles headed to participating independent shops. (recordstoreday.com, yahoo.com) The releases are sold in stores, not by Record Store Day itself, and each shop chooses its own orders from the list. If a title is left over, stores may start selling online on Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) Organizers split the list into three buckets: “Exclusive” titles only for indie stores, “First” titles that may reach other retailers later, and “Small Run/Regional” releases with pressings under 1,000 or limited local distribution. (recordstoreday.com) This year’s event lands as vinyl keeps growing in the United States. Billboard, citing Recording Industry Association of America data released in March, reported that vinyl sales topped $1 billion in 2025. (yahoo.com) Record Store Day started after a 2007 meeting of independent store owners and employees, and the first event was held on April 19, 2008. The organization now says it involves nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally. (recordstoreday.com) Bruno Mars is the 2026 ambassador, and Record Store Day is tying that role to an exclusive LP called *Collaborations*. The official listing says the album includes “Uptown Funk” with Mark Ronson, “Die With A Smile” with Lady Gaga, and “APT.” with Rosé, with 11,000 copies planned. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com) Among the higher-profile catalog releases, The Cure’s *Greatest Hits* gets a 25th-anniversary 2-LP edition curated and remastered by Robert Smith. Record Store Day lists 7,300 copies on silver bio vinyl. (recordstoreday.com) Miles Davis is on the list with *The New Sounds*, a 75th-anniversary reissue of his first album as a bandleader. Record Store Day says the 10-inch mono edition is limited to 2,000 copies and was cut from the original mono tapes. (recordstoreday.com) Pavement’s 1991 EP *Perfect Sound Forever* is getting what Record Store Day calls its first repress ever, on a white 10-inch pressing limited to 2,000 copies. The official listing highlights early songs including “Heckler Spray” and “Debris Slide.” (recordstoreday.com) Coverage this week from What Hi-Fi and Billboard’s Yahoo distribution has zeroed in on the hunt itself: long lists, short runs, and store-by-store availability. By Saturday morning, the real release calendar will be the line outside each shop. (whathifi.com, yahoo.com)