25 Most Expensive Cassettes
The most expensive cassettes sold on Discogs include rare demo recordings, promotional releases, and a variety of self-released tapes.
Cassette tapes continue to attract a wide variety of collectors, from young music fans on a budget to lifelong tape enthusiasts — some of whom are willing to go the extra mile to find the perfect addition to their collection.
Below, you’ll find a ranking of the 25 most expensive cassettes ever sold on Discogs. All prices have been converted to USD (United States Dollar); some prices may fluctuate with the exchange rate. To keep the focus on individual cassettes that are highly collectible, cassette box sets have been omitted from the list.
You may be immediately struck by the fact that a few of these top-ranking tapes are fairly recent releases. Why they have price tags higher than many older, limited releases is not immediately obvious. However, due to the cassette resurgence, many collectors are investing in these releases because they expect the value to increase over time. Another explanation could be that hardcore fans are driven to claim a collector’s item while the price is still relatively low, especially compared to vinyl and CDs.
Beer on the Rug‘s limited cassette release of Macintosh Plus’ Floral Shoppe is the perfect example of that trend. Only 100 copies of this vaporwave album were distributed on tape, which has increased the median value of the release to $775 and pushed the highest selling price to $1,299.
However, older releases are still fetching the steepest price tags, as you can see attached to many of the most expensive cassettes of all time. Here’s a breakdown of those valuable tapes.
#1
Xero
Xero
1997
This rare demo tape features the earliest material from the band that eventually became Linkin Park.
Sold for $4,500
#2
The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold
The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince)
1995
The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold was originally given away to attendees of the Versace collection show at Paris Fashion Week in 1995.
Sold for $4,395
#3
Adult Diversion
Alvvays
2013
This self-released cassette is the first single Alvvays ever released.
Sold for $3,448
#4
Split Personality
Psycho
1992
There’s not a lot of information out there about Psycho, but fans are eager to snatch up this rare horrorcore tape that sounds way ahead of its time.
Sold for $2,200
#7
Sold for $1,500
#9
Sold for $1,473
#11
Sold for $1,400
#12
Sold for $1,350
#13
Sold for $1,299
#16
Sold for $1,200
#20
Sold for $1,200
#22
Sold for $1,100
#23
Sold for $1,100
#24
Sold for $1,100
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About the Most Expensive Cassettes on Discogs
A list of the most expensive releases ever sold features items that were purchased and paid for on Discogs. Although most people come to Discogs to buy new records from independent sellers around the world, some collectors are on the hunt for rarities that sell for high prices due to their scarcity.
Discogs is the world’s largest online music database and marketplace. Dedicated contributors catalog releases in the Database and sellers use this information to list items for sale in the Marketplace. On the right side of each release page, you’ll find useful statistics about the lowest, median, and highest price paid for the item you are viewing.
All prices have been converted to USD (United States Dollar). Some prices may fluctuate with the exchange rate; the prices on this list reflect the current exchange rate while the prices on the release pages reflect the exchange rate at the time of sale.