From Taylor Swift to David Bowie: Vinyl lovers have a ton of limited edition and exclusive records coming on Record Store Day 2026
By contributing writer Rob McLean
Expect plenty of Swifties to rush to Homer’s Music and Gifts shop in Omaha, Nebraska, as soon as the record store, which is credited by Visit Nebraska as having one of the best collections of vinyls in the state, opens its doors on Saturday.
Store manager and fellow Substacker MarQ Manner anticipates Taylor Swift fans coming out in droves on April 18 for “Record Store Day,” a bi-annual celebration of all things vinyl (there’s also an RSD event on Black Friday). It’s a day when major labels and musicians release exclusive record pressings of albums, new recordings and other related accoutrements that music lovers can only find that day in brick-and-mortar, independent record stores and not in chain stores such as Target and Walmart.
Among participating musicians is Swift, who is releasing her single “Elizabeth Taylor” on 7” vinyl on Saturday. Homer’s, located in Omaha’s historic Old Market District downtown area, has ordered more copies of the “Elizabeth Taylor” recording than any other exclusive record release slated for RSD, Manner told Punk Rock Bach.
Universal Music Group, which owns Republic Records — Swift’s U.S. label partner — did not respond to requests for comment about how many copies would be available of the single or the level of demand it expects to see for the RSD exclusive.
Other musicians and bands with records available Saturday include David Bowie, Wire, Ethel Cain and many others.
Manner said Homer’s has long been involved in Record Store Day, and was one of the first 300 stores nationwide to participate in the event.
“It is extremely successful for us,” he said.
Amoeba Records in Hollywood, California, said on Instagram that it will also have exclusive releases, limited edition t-shirts and goodie bags to mark RSD. Brooklyn-based For the Record, meanwhile, will start selling records at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere in New York, Rough Trade at Rockefeller Center plans to have live acts during the day, including Superchunk, Incendiary and Friko, as part of iNDIEPLAZA 2026 — a performance on Rockefeller Center’s plaza.
Vinyl makes a comeback
Rick Johnson, Record Store Day’s coordinator, said the event dates back to around 2007 or 2008, and was started as a way to support independent record stores by incentivizing more people to visit them amid the dominance of digital music.
The founders, Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton, along with a few other record store owners, approached music labels and artists to ask if they would release a special pressing or recording on the third Saturday in April, according to Johnson, and make it available exclusively for sale in physical shops.
Fast-forward nearly 20 years and the third Saturday in April has become a regular celebration for music lovers around the world. Johnson said the event takes place in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, France, among other countries.
Top bands and musicians also show up to support the day. For instance, Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Group made an appearance at the RSD 2024 event at Schoolkids Records in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Despite streaming services like Spotify and Tidal making music available at any time, vinyl records are still widely popular. The Hollywood Reporter reported that vinyl revenue exceeded $1 billion in 2025 and sales grew more than 9% year over year.
“The vinyl boom started in the late 2000s as a more niche trend among audiofiles and indieheads, with alt-rock figures like Jack White serving as early trailblazers evangelizing the format,” the entertainment news publication reported.
While record lovers this Saturday will have a big list of albums and other exclusives to choose from, Manner said he has his eye on something with which many people may not be familiar.
“So there’s an artist named ‘MC 900 Ft. Jesus,’ a kind of obscure Hip Hop Jazz artist from the 90s,” he said. “I never thought I’d see this reissued on vinyl. I’m very excited for that.”
— This article is also published on Punk Rock Bach, a weekly music journalism newsletter without the industry gloss. It is written and edited by Rob McLean. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
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