With the holiday season approaching, retail stores are switching out beach chairs for inflatable turkeys and Santa Clauses. While the rest of the world prepares for family gatherings and high-calorie meals, music enthusiasts and audiophiles are crafting a list that completely disregards the spirit of the season. Record Store Day Black Friday is only a few months away now and yesterday (September 14), the list of releases was revealed. Much like a present on Christmas day, vinyl collectors see this list and immediately start jotting down which titles they are looking to scoop up on Black Friday. They skip the long lines at Best Buy and drive right past the overcrowded mall to sit in front of a record store overnight in hopes of retrieving every last RSD exclusive they can.
Record Store Day is the annual celebration of independent record stores across the world. Labels and artists alike will come together to create exclusive pressings of classic albums and modern-day releases in order to drive fans to their local record shop. Whether it’s an exclusive colored vinyl or fresh cover art, these releases are going to go for insane prices on the resale market, so it’s important to fans to get themselves there as early as possible in order to secure their entire wishlist.
On the heels of this year’s list, Glide has gone through and picked the ten releases we’re most excited about. We detailed five hip-hop releases and five rock releases that should be on top of everyone’s wish list.
Check out the full list here and Glide’s top 10 below;
Hip-Hop
5. The Div – Pac Div
– RSD Exclusive
For years, the west coast hip-hop group Pac Div has been releasing some of the most underrated music to come out of the California rap scene in years. Their breakthrough album, first released in 2011, is finally getting the shine it deserves on this repressing. This pressing comes with 2 LPs and is the first time this project has been pressed up on wax.
4. CU4TRO – Run The Jewels
– RSD First Release
The duo of hip-hop pioneers Killer Mike and El-P has been one of the most exciting and innovative projects to come out in recent years. On this release, their fourth LP together, 2020’s RTJ4, is being reimagined in a whole new light. The duo brought in Latin-American producers to reconfigure the songs from their critically acclaimed album. The double disc also includes the newly minted instrumentals and a newly imagined artwork.
3. Medicine show No. 11: Low Budget Hi-Fi Music – Madlib
-RSD Exclusive Release
At the beginning of 2010, Madlib set the ambitious goal of releasing a full instrumental album once a month for the entire year. Not only did he achieve this impressive feat, but he also surpassed it by exploring a different genre/culture on every release. On the 11th installment of this series, Madlib took it back to his roots as a pioneering hip-hop producer. Low Budget Hi-Fi Music features close collaborators of Madlib like MED and Guilty Simpson and reminds us just why Madlib is one of the most sought-after producers for any rapper. This pressing is done on a lovely pink wax that won’t be available anywhere else.
2. Digi Snacks – RZA as Bobby Digital
For the first time ever on vinyl, RZA’s third album under the alias Bobby Digital is getting a proper release. As one of the most influential producers in all of the music, Bobby Digital is a side project that allows RZA to relieve himself of any standards and express himself to the fullest extent of his creativity. Originally released in 2008, Digi Snacks is a perfect example of RZA’s diversity and ability to craft instrumentals outside of the grimey beats he crafted for the Wu-Tang Clan over the years.
1. Yancey Boys Instrumentals – J.Dilla
The Yancey Boys are composed of the legendary producer J.Dilla and his brother Illa J. This doubled as the debut album for Illa J and was originally released back in 2008. In order to honor the legacy of the late J. Dilla, his family decided to release the instrumentals from the album via Delicious Vinyl. This pressing comes in an exclusive undisclosed colored vinyl that is promised to not be reproduced after it sells out on RSD.
Rock
5. Wish (30th Anniversary Edition) – The Cure
-RSD Exclusive Release
The classic album from the moody rock legends The Cure is celebrating 30 years since its original release. The Grammy-nominated LP is now reworked by Robert Smith and Miles Showell and is pressed up on a two-LP picture disc set that is exclusive to RSD.
4. Metaphysical Graffiti – The Dead Milkmen
– RSD First Release
The Dead Milkmen’s discography has been tucked in the corners of punk rock for too long. The band’s comical approach to songwriter handed them a cult following in their hometown of Philadelphia and one of their best albums is getting a fresh pressing. This pressing features remastered audio of the album, a bonus 7-inch record, and a copy of the original promotional coloring book that has never been commercially available.
3. Self Titled – Gladys Knight and The Pips
– RSD Exclusive Release
For the first time since its original release in 1965, the classic album from Motown legends is getting repressed. This reissue features the original recordings pressed up on 180-gram heavyweight, colored wax. What makes this such an enticing RSD release is that the album is not currently available on streaming services, making this a must for fans of classic soul music.
2. We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Alex G
-RSD First Release
For the soundtrack to this chilling horror film, Alex G crafted an equally terrifying and ambient soundtrack. For the first time on vinyl, this soundtrack features the Philadelphia native’s bedroom pop roots mixed with spacious instrumental pieces that accompany the film. There is only a limited amount of these going out to stores so if you see it doesn’t hesitate to add them to your cart.
1. Live At The Library Theater ‘83 – Nico
– RSD Exclusive Release
After a different live album from the ever charismatic Nico completely sold out during RSD ‘22, they’re back with another recorded performance that features even more accouterments than the first. This is the first time Nico’s 1983 performance at the Library Theater is ever pressed up on wax and features an obi stripe, a yellow-tinted vinyl, and a single album jacket. Based on how quickly the last Nico live album went, only the lucky will be able to walk away with this pressing.
