Lookup
First Pressing Identifier
Pick the album. Each page lists the marks of the original pressing by region, how later pressings differ, and the known variations (mono/stereo, withdrawn tracks, cover changes). Photograph the label and the runout; the app reads the label and these pages confirm the pressing.
How to check any record
- Start with the runout matrix; it identifies the lacquer and stamper and rarely lies.
- Then the label: rim text, logo and address change with year and plant.
- Then the cover: printer, catalog number placement, barcode (none before the late 1970s).
- Disc and cover must match; swapped covers are common on popular titles.
1950s
1960s
- The Beatles — Meet the Beatles!: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Beatles — Please Please Me: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Beatles — Abbey Road: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Beatles — The Beatles (White Album): How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Beatles — Yesterday and Today: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin I: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Bob Dylan — The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Bob Dylan — Highway 61 Revisited: How to Identify a First Pressing
- John Coltrane — A Love Supreme: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Velvet Underground & Nico — The Velvet Underground & Nico: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Doors — The Doors: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Are You Experienced: How to Identify a First Pressing
1970s
- The Rolling Stones — Sticky Fingers: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Rolling Stones — Exile on Main St.: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin IV: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Pink Floyd — The Dark Side of the Moon: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Pink Floyd — Wish You Were Here: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Pink Floyd — The Wall: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Fleetwood Mac — Rumours: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Eagles — Hotel California: How to Identify a First Pressing
- David Bowie — The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Queen — A Night at the Opera: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Bruce Springsteen — Born to Run: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Who — Who's Next: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Sex Pistols — Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols: How to Identify a First Pressing
- The Clash — London Calling: How to Identify a First Pressing
1980s
- Michael Jackson — Thriller: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Prince and the Revolution — Purple Rain: How to Identify a First Pressing
- AC/DC — Back in Black: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Bob Marley and the Wailers — Legend: How to Identify a First Pressing
- Metallica — Master of Puppets: How to Identify a First Pressing
1990s
2000s
2010s
FAQ
What is a runout or matrix number?
The letters and numbers etched or stamped into the smooth band between the last groove and the label. They identify the lacquer cut and stamper, and often the mastering engineer. Read them with the disc tilted under a lamp.
Does a first pressing mean the record is valuable?
Not by itself. Condition, demand and the specific variation matter, and this site does not price records. Identify the pressing here first; the grading guide covers condition.
Can the app identify a pressing from a photo?
It reads the label and cover to name the release; the runout photo is what separates first pressings from later ones, so photograph that too.