Here’s a list of some of the most collectible (and expensive) cassettes in the world.
Cassettes are a hateful, obsolete format that deserves to die. Anyone who romanticizes cassettes wasn’t around when it was the only form of portable music we had.
And for those hyping up a cassette revival on the scale of vinyl, forget it. In all of Canada, just 4,000 pre-recorded cassettes have been sold so far this year. And that’s down 9% from last year. Yeah, good luck with Cassette Store Day in October.
I will make one concession to those who fetishize cassette: Rare editions can be fun to collect–and they’re often a lot cheaper than collecting vinyl.
Discogs.com has compiled a list of the most-expensive rare cassettes they’ve ever sold. Here are some examples (all figures in US dollars).
- The Artist Formerly Known as Prince: The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold, $4,117.
- Throbbing Gristle: 24 Hours, $2,200
- Buck 65: Year Zero, $1,729
- Various Artists: Lonely as an Eyesore (4AD Compilation), $1,629
- Depeche Mode: S/T indie cassette, $1,500
- Depeche Mode, Violator: $900-1,350
- The Smashing Pumpkins, S/T indie cassette: $1,000-1,200
- Coldplay: Ode to Deodorant indie cassette: $900
- Late!: Pocketwatch (pre-Foo Fighters Dave Grohl project): $679
- Tool: 72826 indie cassette, $600
- The Cranberry Saw Us: S/T indie cassette issued by the Cranberries, $579
- Rage Against the Machine: S/T indie cassette, $550.
The full list can be found here.