Every Taylor Swift Era’s Holy Grail on Vinyl (and Affordable Alternatives)
See the most sought-after Taylor Swift records from each era, then decide if you want to splurge or add the more affordable version to your collection.
Taylor Swift is a vinyl sales record-breaker, 12-time Grammy winner, and the first artist in history to claim all top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s a real legacy, and she’s nowhere close to being done.
Swift has released 10 studio albums and is in the process of re-recording her first six in a quest to own the masters to all her work. All re-recordings are referred to as “Taylor’s Version” to indicate her ownership. As of 2023, Red (Taylor’s Version), Fearless (Taylor’s Version), and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) have been released. Swifties are hard at work decoding easter eggs and trying to predict when Swift will be releasing her version of 1989, reputation, and Swift’s self-titled debut album.
Over the course of her career, Swift has encouraged her fans to support independent record stores. Swift frequently provides shops with signed records and CDs, has Record Store Day exclusives for six out of the 10 albums she’s released, and in 2022 was the first global Record Store Day Ambassador. When talking about record stores, Swift said, “The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me. Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion.”
Whether it’s waiting in hours-long lines outside record stores for exclusive releases or surviving the great war for tickets to the Eras Tour, Swifties are no stranger to going to extreme lengths for their favorite global superstar. With a fanbase well into the millions, it’s no surprise that limited quantity releases from singer-songwriter’s discography have quickly become holy grails for devoted collectors.
Here are 10 highly sought-after and valuable Taylor Swift records from each era, as well as much more affordable alternatives you can add to your growing collection. A friendly reminder when hunting for a holy grail: These are some best practices to follow to help ensure safe purchases.
Debut Era
Taylor Swift (2006)
While fans love to stumble upon the 2006 CD at thrift or resale shops, which includes the original lyrics for “Picture To Burn” and “Teardrops On My Guitar,” the holy grail for Swift’s self-titled debut album is this U.S. 2018 Record Store Day “first release” pressed on crystal clear and turquoise vinyl. It was limited to 3,750 individually numbered copies in the U.S., making it a very hot commodity amongst collectors. It’s currently the seventh most wanted Record Store Day release of all time on Discogs.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Fearless Era
Fearless (2008)
The holy grail for Swift’s second studio album, Fearless, is also a U.S. 2018 Record Store Day “first release,” but this era was pressed on crystal clear and metallic gold vinyl. It was also limited to 3,750 individually numbered copies in the U.S.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Speak Now Era
Speak Now (2010)
Speak Now is Swift’s third album and the first to feature only songs solely written by Swift. This U.S 2018 Record Store Day Black Friday “first release” of Speak Now was limited to 4,000 hand-number copies and pressed on clear smoke vinyl. If you missed getting it in person, this record now goes for hundreds of dollars.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Red Era
Red (2012)
While Swift’s fourth studio album also has a 2018 Record Store Day pressing that can be very expensive, this much more limited version of Red was sent out exclusively to a few Academy of Country Music members and was never commercially available. It features Taylor Swift’s Red pressed on red vinyl and is frequently valued at over a thousand dollars.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
1989 Era
1989 (2014)
This U.S. Record Store Day “first release” pressings on pink and crystal clear vinyl of Taylor Swift’s 1989 cracked both the top 10 most expensive Record Store Day releases of all time and the most wanted Record Store Day releases of all time lists on Discogs. Like previous Record Store Day releases, it was limited to 3,750 individually numbered copies in the U.S.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Reputation Era
reputation (2017)
This reputation FYE store exclusive on orange translucent vinyl is the holy grail of this era. Limited to 3,000 total pressings, this variant frequently goes for thousands of dollars. Other than the picture disc release, this is the only alternate version of the album.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Lover Era
Lover (2019)
An unknown limited number of heart-shaped records on pink and baby blue marbled vinyl were exclusively added to Swift’s website on Galentine’s Day 2023 and sold out in under 30 minutes. The shaped vinyl includes eight songs from the Lover album that were recorded live during Swift’s 2019 City of Lover concert at The Olympia in Paris, France.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Folklore Era
folklore (2020)
This 2022 Record Store Day 7-inch on clear vinyl features two versions of “The Lakes,” a song from her album folklore. It was limited to 10,000 copies worldwide and is currently the eighth most wanted Record Store Day release of all time on Discogs. But if you’re wanting the complete album in an exclusive form, look no further than the 2023 Record Store Day exclusive release of folklore: long pond studio sessions.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Evermore Era
evermore (2020)
Swifts’ fans like to joke that evermore is her forgotten child. While Swift claims that’s not true, to date, this is the only album not to get an exclusive version while its sister album, folklore, has two Record Store Day exclusives and eight color variants. So even though this opaque green vinyl is the most wanted version of evermore on Discogs, the good news is it’s very affordable and widely available.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
Midnights Era
Midnights (2022)
Midnights (The Late Night Edition) CD was released as an on-site exclusive for The Eras Tour ticket holders starting with the East Rutherford, New Jersey shows. In addition to being limited in both number and location, it’s currently the only physical release available that features tracks “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault),” “Snow On The Beach” featuring more Lana Del Rey, and “Karma” featuring Ice Spice.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
TTPD Era
The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was released a day before Record Store Day 2024 and during National Poetry Month. At 2am, Swift revealed that it was a double album, surprise-releasing 15 bonus tracks, making the The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology contain a total of 31 tracks. On November 29, 2024, The Anthology was made available on vinyl at Target and is looking to be the most sought-after version of this era.
Collector’s Grail
Affordable Alternative
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