Over 540 releases. That's how many exclusive titles will hit the shelves of independent record shops on Saturday 18 April. Five hundred and forty. You could read through the full list on recordstoreday.co.uk and still be scrolling when the shops open.
Nobody needs 540 records. Nobody even needs 20. The point of RSD is to find the handful of releases that genuinely excite you — the ones where the pressing matters, the material is worth hearing, or the record simply doesn't exist in any other form. Everything else is noise.
We've gone through the entire list so you don't have to. These are findyl's picks for RSD 2026: the releases we'd set an alarm for, across every genre, at every price point. If you need the practical stuff — how early to queue, what to bring, what to do if you miss out — our RSD 2026 Survival Guide has you covered.
The Big Names
Blur — Live at the Budokan (2xLP)
This has been a white whale for Blur fans since 1996. Recorded in November 1995 at Tokyo's legendary Budokan arena, right at the peak of the Britpop wars, it was originally only released in Japan and briefly as a UK fan club mail-order CD. It has never been pressed on vinyl until now. The red double LP comes in a gatefold with printed inner sleeves. If you were there for the Great Escape era, or if you just want to hear Blur at their most ferociously confident, this is the one.
Paramore — All We Know Is Falling (2xLP, Deluxe)
Paramore's 2005 debut has been hard to find on vinyl for years, and this deluxe red double LP finally gives it a proper reissue. The bonus disc includes the first-ever vinyl pressing of the rare 2006 Summer Tic EP, which has never been on vinyl before. Twenty years on, "Pressure" and "Emergency" still hit harder than most things released this week.
Charli XCX — "Party 4U" (7")
A deep cut for the brat faithful. Charli XCX puts one of her most beloved fan favourites on seven-inch single for the first time. It's the kind of release that'll sell out fast and end up on Discogs for triple the price by lunchtime. If you want it, get there early.
Madonna — The Confessions Tour Live (2xLP)
Madonna's 2006 tour finally gets a vinyl debut. The Confessions Tour was peak mid-2000s Madonna — "Hung Up", "Sorry", the disco-house era that some fans quietly think is her best since Ray of Light. Stuart Price, the electronic producer and musician who was behind the Confessions on a Dance Floor album, handled the live production, and it sounds massive.
Slipknot — Look Outside Your Window (2xLP)
The mythologised side-project that Slipknot fans have been arguing about for over a decade finally gets a proper release. Recorded during the All Hope Is Gone sessions but shelved for years, it's a departure from what you'd expect — less blunt force, more atmosphere. Corey Taylor, Jim Root, Sid Wilson and Shawn Crahan made something genuinely different here, and the fact that it's finally seeing the light is an event in itself.
Best for Collectors
David Bowie — Hallo Spaceboy EP (12", Neon Pink) + Excerpts from Outside (LP, Clear Vinyl)
Two releases for Bowie fans this year. The Hallo Spaceboy EP collects six remixes on neon pink 12-inch: two from Pet Shop Boys, three from Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk, and a previously unreleased Tim Simenon remix. First time all of them have appeared together on vinyl.
The clear vinyl Excerpts from Outside is the condensed single-LP version of 1.OUTSIDE, the sprawling concept album Bowie made with Brian Eno, the producer and ambient music pioneer who helped shape Bowie's Berlin trilogy in the late seventies. This pressing is half-speed mastered from the 2021 Eno-approved masters. If you've been waiting for a decent vinyl version of this underrated era, this is it.
Muse — Muse S/T EP + Muscle Museum EP
Muse are reissuing both of their pre-fame EPs, which have been out of print since the late nineties and currently fetch serious money on the second-hand market. The self-titled EP is their actual first release, recorded before they signed to Maverick. If you've ever wanted to hear what Muse sounded like before stadiums happened, here's your chance at a price that isn't £150 on Discogs.
Pavement — Perfect Sound Forever (10", White Vinyl)
Pavement's 1991 EP gets its first repress in 35 years. Originals regularly sell for well over double what this RSD reissue will cost. It's the sound of a band figuring out what they are — raw, scrappy, brilliant. Limited to a relatively small pressing, so don't hang about.
The Live Albums Worth Having
Jeff Buckley — Live À L'Olympia (2xLP)
Jeff Buckley's 1995 Paris shows arrive on vinyl for the very first time. Two nights at L'Olympia, featuring half the songs from Grace alongside covers of Nina Simone and Edith Piaf. Given how few recordings Buckley left behind, every live document matters. This one captures him and his band at their most electric.
Blur — Live at the Budokan (2xLP)
Already mentioned above, but it bears repeating: this is a first-ever vinyl pressing of a recording that's been near-impossible to get for 30 years. That alone puts it near the top of any RSD list.
Bruce Springsteen — Live From Asbury Park 2024 (5xLP)
A career-spanning three-hour set from the 2024 Sea.Hear.Now festival, remastered at Sterling Sound. Five LPs is a commitment, and the price will reflect that. But Springsteen playing his hometown at this point in his career is the kind of thing you want on vinyl.
Olivia Dean — Live at the BBC (7")
Fresh from her Best New Artist Grammy win, Olivia Dean presses her Radio 1 Live Lounge performance to vinyl. A small, affordable release that captures one of the UK's most exciting voices at the right moment.
Air — Moon Safari: The Athens Concert (2xLP)
Air's first-ever live album, and what a way to do it: a performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, a 2,000-year-old amphitheatre, playing Moon Safari in full with new arrangements. The duo spent a year touring the album's 25th anniversary, and this recording captures the definitive version of those shows.
For the Crate Diggers
Walker Brothers — Nite Flights (LP, Clear Vinyl)
This might be the single most important reissue on the entire list. The Walker Brothers' 1978 album is a genuinely strange and beautiful record. The first four tracks, written and sung by Scott Walker, are unlike anything else from that era — dark, cinematic, wildly experimental. David Bowie worshipped them. This pressing is cut from the original quarter-inch master tapes, which is the first time that's happened on a reissue. Clear vinyl. If there's one album on this list that could change what you think music can sound like, it's this.
Talking Heads — The CBS/Columbia Demos (2xLP, 45rpm)
The demo sessions from 1975, before Jerry Harrison joined, when Talking Heads were still a trio. Cut at 45rpm across two LPs by Sterling Sound, which means they're taking the audio quality seriously. These are the recordings that got them signed. Raw, nervy, and utterly compelling.
Captain Beefheart — Lick My Decals Off, Baby (2xLP, Deluxe)
Captain Beefheart's 1970 follow-up to Trout Mask Replica gets a deluxe reissue with a bonus LP of previously unreleased alternate takes and instrumentals. The original album is recut from the master tapes at Bernie Grundman Mastering, one of the most respected mastering houses in the world. If you've been curious about Beefheart but Trout Mask Replica felt like being thrown in the deep end, this is actually the better starting point.
Weezer — 1192 (LP, Grey Vinyl)
Not the band you'd expect in the crate digger section, but hear this out. Original bassist Matt Sharp found a multitrack reel of Weezer's very first studio session from November 1992 — the recordings that got them their deal. Sharp and producer Joe Chicarrelli brought the tape to East/West Studios and mixed it entirely analogue. The RSD pressing is cut directly from that new mixdown tape. It's a genuine archival discovery, not a repackaging exercise.
Jazz & Soul Picks
Various Jazz Releases from Resonance, Elemental & Time Traveller
Jazz fans, clear your budget. Producer Zev Feldman has assembled one of the strongest RSD jazz slates in years. The highlights include Joe Henderson's quartet live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago (1978, 3xLP), Ahmad Jamal's trio from the same venue (1976, 2xLP), and Yusef Lateef's quartet (1975, 3xLP). All are mastered and cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab.
There's also Bill Evans at the BBC from 1965, a Roy Hargrove live set from 2000, and the first vinyl reissue of bassist Buster Williams' 1975 album Pinnacle, a sought-after spiritual jazz record pressed at Optimal, one of Europe's most respected pressing plants.
Miles Davis — The New Sounds (10")
It's the centennial of Miles Davis' birth, and his debut 10-inch LP for Prestige gets a faithful reissue in its original format. Cut from the original mono tapes, packaged in a Stoughton tip-on jacket that recreates the original artwork. Limited to 2,000 copies. A beautiful object and a piece of jazz history.
John Coltrane — France 1965: The Complete Concerts (4xLP)
Also marking the Coltrane centennial, UK label Charly Records releases the complete July 1965 French concerts, including A Love Supreme performed live. Four LPs of Coltrane's classic quartet in full flight. The separate Impulse release of The Tiberi Tapes preview LP is interesting too, but this is the one with the substance.
Gil Scott-Heron — Reflections (LP)
A reissue for one of the most important voices in American music. Gil Scott-Heron — the poet, musician and author who fused spoken word with jazz and soul long before anyone called it hip-hop — deserves a place in every collection. If you don't own any Scott-Heron on vinyl, start here.
Ray Charles — Live In Concert: The Complete Performance (LP, Tangerine Vinyl)
The complete 75-minute show from 1965, on vinyl for the first time ever. Remastered by Michael Graves, pressed on tangerine vinyl, limited to 900 copies. That's a very small run for a Ray Charles live album of this quality. Don't sleep on it.
The War Child Releases
Fifteen of this year's releases are in aid of War Child, the charity supporting children affected by conflict. Every copy sold donates £1. The artists involved include The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Primal Scream, The Streets, Divorce, The Vaccines, and Sigrid & Bring Me the Horizon. You're buying a record and supporting a good cause. There's no downside.
The Fleetwood Mac release features a track from Peter Green's original lineup, which alone makes it one of the most interesting items in the War Child set. The Cure and Primal Scream contributions are worth chasing too — both bands with the kind of catalogues where a one-off exclusive could be something genuinely special.
The Wildcard
Kokoroko — Live At Metropolis (12")
If you haven't heard Kokoroko yet, this is a perfect entry point. The London-based collective blend West African highlife with jazz, and they've been one of the most exciting live acts in the UK for years. Released on Brownswood, the label run by Gilles Peterson, the legendary DJ and broadcaster who's done more than almost anyone to champion new jazz and global music in the UK. A live recording on a label with taste, from a band that sounds even better in person. Exactly the kind of release RSD was invented for.
How to Use This List
Pick your tier ones. Be honest with yourself about what you'll actually play, not what looks good in a photo. Call your local shop and ask what they've ordered — most are happy to tell you. And if you're planning your morning, our RSD Survival Guide has everything you need.
The full release list is at recordstoreday.co.uk/rsd-list. Find your nearest participating shop on findyl's store finder or the RSD store locator.
Saturday 18 April. Set your alarm.