Record Store Day 2026: UK's Biggest Ever, US Best-Sellers

Record Store Day 2026 took place on Saturday 18 April in the US, the UK and Ireland, and in France as Disquaire Day. UK organisers called it the shop network's biggest ever, with sales up 25% on 2025 across more than 300 independent shops, while in the US, Luminate data reported by Billboard put Pink Floyd's clear four-LP live album at the top of sales among more than 350 exclusive releases.

Three national events, one shared format: shops open early, exclusives go on sale strictly in person while stock lasts, and whatever's left over starts showing up at a markup on the resale market within days.

US best-sellers: Pink Floyd, Bruno Mars and a K-pop soundtrack

Billboard's chart, compiled from Luminate point-of-sale data for the week ending 23 April, ranked the top RSD 2026 albums as:

The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack's companion Saja Boys edition placed sixth, per the research behind this piece. On singles, Taylor Swift's violet-glitter 7-inch of "Elizabeth Taylor" was the best-seller, ahead of Olivia Dean's "Live at the BBC" and KATSEYE's "Touch". Bruno Mars, this year's US ambassador, told Billboard: "I love collecting vinyl because nothing is better than sitting on your couch, putting on a record and just listening to music like that." Billboard's report gave chart rankings only, with no unit sales published per title.

UK and Ireland: the "biggest ever" RSD

Record Store Day UK said 18 April was the 19th UK edition and its biggest yet: more than 300 participating shops (314 listed ahead of the day), about 500 special releases, and sales up 25% on 2025. ERA chief executive Kim Bayley said the day "demonstrated as never before the emerging role of record shops as cultural hubs." Shop owners quoted by the organisers backed that up: Phil Barton of Sister Ray in Soho called trade "busy, busier than ever," and Natasha Youngs of Resident Music in Brighton reported her shop's highest post-RSD sales on record. Olivia Dean, the UK's 2026 ambassador and one of 2025's biggest-selling vinyl artists in her own right, fronted the campaign.

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Disquaire Day: 70 labels at Paris's Ground Control

France marked the day as Disquaire Day, organised by the SCPP. Its flagship event at Ground Control in Paris brought together 70 labels and was expected to draw around 6,500 visitors, with roughly 40 independent shops across the Paris region taking part and about 200 exclusive records on offer, according to Sortir à Paris. It's a smaller-scale event than the UK's shop-by-shop format, concentrated instead around one large showcase.

Why the paper trail matters more than the sticker

RSD exclusives carry no special protection once they leave the shop: a clear 4-LP box or a glitter 7-inch looks like any other pressing a few years later unless you kept track of which variant you bought, and where. That matters most for titles like this year's leaders, where a standard reissue of the same album is likely to follow the limited pressing eventually. Noting the exact edition, the shop and the date at the point of purchase is what tells a genuine RSD copy apart from a later repress when you (or a buyer) look again down the line.

Building a shop-day habit

Record Store Day and National Album Day are the UK's two fixed dates for this kind of event, but the habits that make RSD worthwhile — turning up early, knowing which shops carry what, having cash and a wantlist ready — are the same ones covered in our guide to finding great record stores. They're also useful preparation for a bigger fixed date later in the year, like the Mega Record & CD Fair in Den Bosch in November. The UK's growing independent sector — now up to 499 shops — means there's more choice than ever about where to spend an RSD Saturday.

Whatever you picked up this April, logging the edition and where it came from in your collection is what keeps a one-day exclusive traceable once the queue photos are forgotten.

Frequently asked questions

01What was the best-selling Record Store Day 2026 release in the US?

Pink Floyd's clear four-LP Live From the Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 26th, 1975 topped Billboard's albums count, based on Luminate point-of-sale data. Taylor Swift's violet-glitter 7-inch of 'Elizabeth Taylor' was the best-selling single.

02Was Record Store Day 2026 the biggest ever in the UK?

Organisers Record Store Day UK described it as the biggest ever, with sales up 25% on 2025 across more than 300 shops and around 500 special releases, in the event's 19th UK edition.

03What is Disquaire Day?

Disquaire Day is the French edition of Record Store Day, organised by the SCPP. In 2026 its main event at Ground Control in Paris brought together 70 labels and around 40 independent shops across the Paris region took part.

Sources

• Record Store Day 2026's Top Sellers: Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd, Bruno Mars & More — Billboard (syndicated on Yahoo Entertainment), 2 May 2026
• Biggest Ever Record Store Day Celebration Boosts UK High Streets — Record Store Day UK, 23 April 2026
• The Record Store Day 2026 List Has Landed! — Record Store Day UK, 4 February 2026
• Olivia Dean announced as Ambassador of Record Store Day UK — Record of the Day, 26 February 2026
• Disquaire Day (official site) — Disquaire Day, accessed 24 September 2026
• Disquaire Day 2026: The big vinyl celebration returns to Paris this spring — Sortir à Paris, 17 April 2026