10 Solid Gold Vinyl Variants

The Wu-Tang Clan’s rags to riches story, from their solo and collective triumphs over turn-of-the-millenium hip-hop to releasing the most expensive album ever sold, is the stuff of legends. So it’s only fitting that this 2021 Vinyl Me, Please repressing of their breakout debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) comes on two discs of rich metallic gold vinyl, along with listening notes and a Wu-Tang chess board insert.

After the dissolution of explosive post-hardcore band At the Drive-In – and aside from a brief dub excursion with De Facto – Cedric Bixler Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez set out on an epic journey through the worlds of prog-punk, Latin psych fusion, and some of their most cryptic cut-and-paste poetry yet with long-running band the Mars Volta. This 2014 pressing of their astounding full-length debut, 2003’s De-Loused In The Comatorium, comes on gold vinyl to match the eerie detached head on the album’s cover art by Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgerson (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, etc).

French electro rockers Justice broke out with their anthemic rework of Simian’s “Never Be Alone” in 2002, a sing-along that became an opening salvo and a signature tune of ‘00s electroclash and indie dance nights. For their 2007 debut album on Ed Banger, the stylish upstart Parisian electro label founded by former Daft Punk manager Pedro Winter (aka producer Busy P), Justice doubled down on their distorted, headbanging electronic sound with tracks like “Waters of Nazareth,” “Let There Be Light,” and the Tenebre-sampling one-two punch of “Phantom” and “Phantom Pt II.” To match the floating gold cross on the pictographically-titled album’s cover, this 2002 Vinyl Me, Please pressing features two LPs on “gold nugget” vinyl as well as a gatefold sleeve.

For his follow-up to 2017’s Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy-winning DAMN. and his soundtrack for the film Black Panther, Kendrick Lamar retreated in the midst of the pandemic to make a deeply personal, introspective album with Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The album won him another Grammy award, for Best Rap Album in 2023, and topped the Billboard 200 charts. This gold pressing was released as an exclusive via the Kendrick Lamar web store and Interscope Europe. 

Originally released in 1977, Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album Rumours became the band’s first number-one album in the UK and also topped the US Billboard 200 chart. The songs “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun” were released as singles, all of which reached the US Top 10, with “Dreams” reaching number one. Ranked number 25 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rumours continues to find new audiences almost 40 years after its release. This 2021 Warner Records reissue was pressed by Optimal Media in Germany and sold exclusively at Target as a gold vinyl variant.

ABBA Gold is a greatest hits compilation collecting 19 songs from the iconic Swedish pop group. Originally released in 1992, Gold is not only the best-selling ABBA album of all time, but one of the best-selling albums ever, with worldwide sales of over 30 million. Although ABBA broke up in 1982, the band received a resurgence in interest following the release of Erasure’s ABBA-Esque EP in 1992. Gold was released in September of that year, and the single “Dancing Queen” subsequently returned to the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. ABBA’s unstoppable brand of dance pop continues to be celebrated by new legions of fans, and this 25th anniversary reissue released in 2017 gives the record the gold variant pressing it deserves.

Run The Jewels 3 is a tour de force that puts the duo’s exceptional lyricism, smooth flows, and inventive production on full display. El-P and Killer Mike’s vocal chemistry and impressive guest appearances from Zack de la Rocha, Danny Brown, and Kamasi Washington make the group’s third album one of their finest hours. After a few gold pressings sold out, Run The Jewels released this gold vinyl version in 2022 to meet the demand of their passionate fans. 

On February 11, 2021, Taylor Swift announced that Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was coming soon. While she didn’t officially announce the release date, Swifties correctly decoded the unique capitalization in her announcement note for an April 9, 2021 release date. This gold vinyl variant features six previously unreleased songs from the vault and can be easily added to your collection without breaking the bank. If you’ve lucky enough to have coins to spare, then the RSD grail for this era on metallic gold vinyl might be the one for you. 

Part concept album and part rock opera, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars is a quintessential glam rock album that sounds as revolutionary as it did when it was released in 1972. By blending proto-punk influences, lush string arrangements, and memorable pop melodies, David Bowie was able to craft a powerful musical backdrop for his lyrical explorations of apocalyptic prophecy. Released in 2017, this 45th anniversary edition was pressed on limited-edition gold vinyl. 

Released in 1992, Sleep’s second album established the band as masters of doom metal and leaders of the stoner metal scene that rose to prominence in the early 1990s. The band’s punishingly heavy riffs, slower tempos, and references to cannabis make Sleep’s Holy Mountain the ideal soundtrack for anyone looking to enter an altered state of consciousness. This reissue from 2021 features an altered version of the original artwork and gold vinyl.