Spring is in the air, but if you breathe deeply enough you may also pick up the scent of fresh vinyl. This Saturday, April 19, marks the seventh annual installment of Record Store Day, which is celebrated at select music retailers throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and several other countries. In conjunction with the unofficial holiday, a vast number of artists are issuing limited-edition vinyl singles, EPs and LPs that are sold exclusively at participating independent record shops.
This year’s Record Store Day is proving to be one of the most expansive yet, with more than 400 special releases headed for U.S. stores alone. Obviously, there are way too many discs to list, but among some of the noteworthy acts represented are Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers Band, David Bowie, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Green Day, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes, Linkin Park & Jay-Z, Mastodon, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, The Ramones, R.E.M., Soundgarden and Bruce Springsteen.
– David Bowie’s “1984” picture disc — a seven-inch single featuring a photo of Bowie with famed beat author William S. Burroughs, and including the original version of the song and a live rendition from a December 1974 TV appearance.
– The Grateful Dead’s Live at Hampton Coliseum — a two-LP set featuring previously unreleased performances from a concert the band played at the Virginia venue on May 4, 1979.
– The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Live at Monterey — a high-quality 180-gram vinyl edition of the album documenting Hendrix and his group’s landmark 1967 set at the Monterey Pop festival.
– Mastodon — Live at Brixton — 180-gram vinyl two-LP set, with DVD, limited to run of 2,000.
– Nirvana’s “Pennyroyal Tea” and “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” — the first release of “Pennyroyal” on seven-inch vinyl. The B-side was originally supposed to be released in 1994 but was shelved when Kurt Cobain committed suicide.
– Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes’ Live at the Greek — a three-LP version of the 2000 album — on red, clear and blue vinyl discs — capturing performances from Page and The Crowes’ collaborative 1999 shows in Los Angeles.
– Soundgarden’s Superunknown: The Singles — a set of five 10-inch vinyl discs.
– Bruce Springsteen’s American Beauty EP — a 12-inch disc featuring four previously unreleased songs from the sessions that yielded the Boss’ latest album, 2014’s High Hopes.
Check out the full list of special releases at RecordStoreDay.com.