How much were vinyl records selling for?

The art and tooling for Lp production far exceeds that for CD. The price for CDs went to ~$15 at startup. A straight in your face rip-off. A real big question is why Beatles and Stones CDs go for $18 a pop now. Wanton greed. Easy a pie run them off the mill production just reaping in the bucks. I can see why Mr Jackson needs that income. But why Mick and the boys? Nasty.

/rant off

Hey, how about maxell reel to reel tapes, how much were they going for ?

There is a wide range of responses on the price of LPs "when CDs took
over" because it took about 5 years for CDs to take over, and LPs had a
broad price range, from the bargain bin cutouts making way for the new
format to the last of the new releases.

The first CDs were produced in 1982, but CDs didn't overtake the LP--that
is, they didn't outsell the LP--until 1987. By that time, new LPs were running
about $7.99-8.99, while there were plenty that could be had cheaper, though
not the newest releases.

Having bought Sheffield D2D LPs in the mid-'70s for $10 ea., my reaction
when CDs came out at $15-18 was, "well, at that price an LP would
sound better yet--if the money went into better recording, mastering and
pressing."

I'm basing my pricing on the vintage LPs I've bought over the past few years.
A few have had still been sealed and more have had the original shrink and
price tags on them. The good ones from the mid-'80s were going for around
$8.99.

As for the $3.99-5.99 range, I distinctly remember in 1969 when I bought
the self-titled Creedence Clearwater and Blood, Sweat, & Tears albums, that
the MSRP was around $4.99, but they sold at my local department store for
$3.19, and they had the best prices in town. Within 3-4 years new LPs were
going for $4.99 at Tower and The Wherehouse. In 1975-6 when I sold audio
equipment commercial LPs were around $4.99-5.99 and the audiophile
Sheffield LPs were $10.

BTW, adjusted for inflation, those last LPs in 1987 at $8.99 were about the
best bargain--they translate to $16 in 2008 dollars, whereas a $5 LP in 1972
is equivalent to $24.53 today. So the price of LPs today is about the same in
real dollars as what they cost in the golden age of analog.

In Canada back then LP's sold for $9.99-$12.99 Cdn. as typical. My first CD cost me $24.99 Cdn. in June 1984.

As a young lad in the late 1960's one of the very first Lps that I purchased with my own money was the Beatles White double Lp.
I vividly remember what the price was, $11.00 and change. It took all that I earned from delivering news papers.

A single average price of a popular first release Lp back then was about $6.00.

This was the early days of the golden era of Rock.

By the early part of the 1970's prices for Lps weren't that much more, still under $10.00 for popular music.

One of the first concert's I attended in the early 1970s was Pink Floyd, their Dark Side of the Moon tour, and what a concert it was!
Ticket prices were about $18.00.

The Wall tour I believe was under $40.00 per ticket as was other Rock concert ticket prices at the end of that decade.

By this time Lp prices averaged $10.00 or so for a double issue.

A trip to the United Kingdom around the same time revealed Lp prices about the same as here in North America.

Now going back in time for prices of Lps I recently bought a collection from an estate sale, among them I found a handful of treasures, for me at lease.

Sealed first release some with Simpsons price stickers still on them.

Nat King Cole and His Trio, After Midnight $3.25

The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Jazz, Red Hot and Cool $3.15

Sarah Vaughan, After Hours with Sarah Vaughan $3.25

Nat Cole, The Nat King Cole Story Volume 1 $3.93

This one made my heart jump a beat as I thumbed through the collection at the auction, I hoped there were more sealed Blue Notes or even used.

I was the only one interested in the Lps at the auction, they weren't even listed in the ad for the estate sale.

Dexter Gordon, One Flight Up, No price sticker

Whom ever this fellow was, the rest of his record collection is sure in great condition, a rare find for so many Lps.
The other few hundred are run of the mill including dozens of box sets.

Fun thread BTW, brings back a lot of memories.