25 Most Valuable Cassettes of All Time
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 are the 25 most expensive cassettes ever sold on Discogs. All prices have been converted to USD (United States Dollar); some may fluctuate with the exchange rate. Cassette box sets have been omitted from the list to keep the focus on highly collectible individual cassettes.
While most of these cassettes aren’t currently available in the Discogs Marketplace, you can add any of them to your Wantlist to get notified when they resurface. Explore the top 25 most valuable cassettes below.
#1
Deftones
Deftones
1992
When self-titled cassette popped up on Discogs in May 2024, it sold for $5,000. According to the writing on the cover, the band only created 15 tapes.
Interestingly, the cassette shell refers to the band as “The Deftones,” which isn’t how the band refers to themselves in any other official capacity. The shell also has the band’s first manager Dave Park’s phone number printed on it. Musically, the cassette has the same four songs on each side.
Sold for $5,000
#3
The Versace Experience – Prelude 2 Gold
The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince)
1997
For roughly 25 years, this promo version was the only physical way to hear the album. In 2019, the Prince Estate, purple version limited to 1,000, sold exclusively at Electric Fetus record shop in Minnesota.
Sold for $4,651.16
#3
Xero
Xero
2013
Before Xero.
Made up of Mark Wakefield (vocals), Xero only released one cassette sampler. Failing to see success, Wakefield left, the band turned into Hybrid Theory, and soon after, Linkin Park.
Two cassette versions exist, one with a baby cover, released in 1997, and the other with a shopping cart cover, released in 1996. Few copies of either cassette exist, making them sought-after among fans.
Currently, no other versions of the baby cover are available in the Discogs Marketplace, but one copy of the shopping cart cover is available for $5,470.78.
Sold for $4,500
#4
“Adult Diversion”
Alvvays
2013
Polyvinyl, not many copies of the tape exist, making this an extremely rare grail for the indie-pop darlings.
Sold for $3,423.36
#5
Split Personality
Various
1992
The fact that the EP is unavailable on streaming platforms adds to the mystique. It’s become an oft-talked-about release on the Memphis rap message boards, only spoken about in speculative tones. Several videos on YouTube claim to feature the whole tape, however, the scene’s fans often enter the comments, stating that they are remixed versions.
Sold for $2,200
#10
Sold for $1,578.95
#11
Sold for $1,538.46
#12
Sold for $1,500
#13
Sold for $1,500
#14
Sold for $1,400
#15
Sold for $1,350
#18
Sold for $1,299.99
#19
Sold for $1,250
#22
Sold for $1,200
#25
Sold for $1,200
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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.
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