Record Store Day drops April 18

Record Store Day returns on Saturday, April 18, with this year’s official list pointing collectors to hundreds of limited vinyl releases at independent shops. (recordstoreday.com) Record Store Day said the 2026 special-title list will be released only through participating brick-and-mortar stores on April 18, and stores choose for themselves which records to stock. The organization also said there are no pre-orders for the event. (recordstoreday.com) The official site sorts this year’s slate into three buckets: “Exclusive” titles that stay with indie stores, “First” titles that may later reach other retailers, and “Small Run/Regional” titles with pressings under 1,000 or limited geographic distribution. Record Store Day said unsold copies may move to store websites or marketplace accounts starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) Bruno Mars is this year’s Record Store Day ambassador, and the event is tying that role to an exclusive LP called *Collaborations*. The official release page lists 11,000 copies and says the album includes “Uptown Funk” with Mark Ronson, “Die With A Smile” with Lady Gaga and “APT.” with ROSÉ. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com) Some of the biggest-name releases are aimed squarely at line-forming collectors. Record Store Day lists Taylor Swift’s “Elizabeth Taylor” as a 7-inch exclusive for April 18, while Bruce Springsteen’s *Live From Asbury Park 2024* arrives as a five-LP set drawn from his 2024 Sea.Hear.Now performance. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com) The Cure has two of the more heavily discussed catalog titles on the list. The official pages show *Greatest Hits* on 2LP silver bio vinyl with 7,300 copies and *Acoustic Hits* on 2LP with 7,200 copies. (recordstoreday.com, recordstoreday.com) Record Store Day began in 2007 as an effort by independent store owners and employees to celebrate record-shop culture, and the first event was held on April 19, 2008. The organization now says nearly 1,400 independently owned stores in the United States and thousands more internationally take part. (recordstoreday.com) That store-by-store model is why shoppers are being told to check local participation lists instead of assuming every release will be everywhere. Record Store Day says buyers should look for stores with its “Pledge Badge” if they want shops eligible to carry the April 18 exclusives. (recordstoreday.com) For buyers, the practical rule is simple: the records arrive at indie stores first, the biggest titles will be unevenly distributed, and the leftovers — if there are any — do not move online until April 19. (recordstoreday.com)