23 great vinyl albums to give this Christmas, from The Beatles to Stormzy and Amy Winehouse

Revolver

The Beatles (Parlophone)

The biggie. The daddy. The big enchilada. This Revolver vinyl box set doesn’t come cheap (in or around €230, depending on where you buy it), but for Fab Four completists and lovers of quality pop music, it’s the business. Contains a new mix by Giles Martin (son of ‘Fifth Beatle’ George Martin), the original mono mix, a four-track EP, more than 30 session takes and demo tracks, a book (with an introduction by Paul McCartney), essay, informative song notes, handwritten lyrics, and cover-art explanations (by the illustrator Klaus Voormann).

Duran Duran

Future Past (BMG)

The most recent album from this UK mega pop band, from October 2021, features guest appearances from Blur’s Graham Coxon, the Scandinavian singer Lykke Li, and the one-time David Bowie associate Mike Garson. This is a limited edition of two vinyl records, one red and one green, plus two art booklets.

Tapestry

Carole King (Sony/Legacy)

“I wasn’t in the same league vocally with Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell or Barbra Streisand. But I knew how to convey the mood and emotion of a song with honest, straight-from-the-heart interpretation.” You can say that again, for Carole King’s peerless bedsit album is full of such songs, delivered with the lightest of touches. There’s no special edition here, no bells and whistles, just the vinyl. In fairness, what more would you need?

Neil Young

Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition Deluxe Box Set (Reprise)

Is there any committed music fan who hasn’t heard Harvest more than a gazillion times? For the 50th anniversary of the album (Young’s fourth), the record label has gone all out to impress. This box set contains the original album, a previously unreleased BBC solo live album from 1971, three studio out-takes (on 7in) from the original Harvest recording sessions, two DVDs, a hardback book, a lithograph print, and a code for a high-resolution download of the 50th-anniversary edition.

White Lies/Red to Blue (Universal Music)

It’s unusual that an artist of Mick Flannery’s calibre would have back-catalogue items that were never released on vinyl. That oversight changes with the issuing of White Lies (his second studio album, from 2008, which includes the fan favourites Wish You Well, California, and Safety Rope) and Red to Blue (from 2012, which includes Boston, one of Flannery’s best-loved songs). White Lies is on 180g white vinyl; Red to Blue is on 180g ultra-blue vinyl. Both albums include a signed print.

Richard Dawson

The Ruby Cord (Weird World/Domino)

One of the best albums of 2022 explores across sometimes lengthy tracks the concept of a dystopian future. No – come back! The music unfolds beautifully, so prepare for an exceptional audio experience. This edition features two light blue records, two printed inner sleeves, an art print (designed by Jake Blanchard) and a download code.

David Bowie

A Divine Symmetry (Parlophone)

Subtitled An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory, this single vinyl album does exactly what that says by gathering early mixes of the songs on Bowie’s 1971 album along with new alternative mixes by Ken Scott, the album’s original producer. The result – a different version of one of Bowie’s best albums – is manna from heaven for (admittedly) completely obsessed fans. Includes the session out-take song Bombers.

Back to Black Deluxe

Amy Winehouse (UMC)

As classic as it gets, Amy Winehouse’s second, multi-award-winning studio album features wall-of-sound soul/pop songs that never fail to impress and inspire. This deluxe presentation includes a second disc of eight B-sides and demos, including Winehouse’s renditions of Toots and the Maytals’ Monkey Man and The Specials’ version of You’re Wondering Now, plus Mark Ronson’s hit song Valerie, on which Winehouse is the featured vocalist. The two 180g albums were mastered at half-speed at Abbey Road studios.

Dermot Kennedy

Sonder (Island/Interscope)

Dermot Kennedy is one of this year’s biggest-selling Irish artists, and his second album consolidates his position even further with a batch of intimate and intense songs. Available in transparent vinyl (available exclusively through therecordhub.com), black vinyl (comes with alternative artwork and two bonus tracks) and white vinyl (with a lavender inset that matches the colour design of the album cover).

Michael Jackson

Thriller (40th Anniversary Edition) (Sony)

One of the greatest and most culturally influential albums ever released, Thriller has sold almost 70 million physical copies and won just about every music-industry award going. This 40th-anniversary release comes in a variety of formats, but if you’re as much a Michael Jackson fan as an audiophile, then this particular edition is the one to get. Available as a limited-edition Ultradisc One-Step LP and a numbered (40,000) deluxe box set. The vinyl is housed in an open-ended slipcase; the finished product also features a foil-stamped jacket and faithfully reproduced graphics; hhv.de has more details.

Remastered in Vinyl IV

Kate Bush (Rhino)

Whoa! If you’re a Kate Bush completist, look no further. This package features remastered B-side tracks, 12in remixes of The Big Sky, Hounds of Love, Cloudbusting and other songs, and a disc of cover versions. (Who knew that Bush covered Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing?) The box set comes as four black-vinyl discs, pure and simple. Available from therecordhub.com.

Ash

Meltdown (BMG)

Is there a better band than Ash to fuse melodious pop songs with stainless-steel guitar riffs? Highly unlikely, and you can hear why on this remastered reissue (from its original release in 2004). This limited-edition orange-and-black splatter vinyl album is enclosed in a gatefold sleeve.

Weyes Blood

And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow (PIAS)

The American songwriter Natalie Mering first came to our attention three years ago with her debut album, Titanic Rising. Her 2022 album raises the creative ante by channelling the soul (and voice) of Karen Carpenter. Is it cheery listening? Not really, but it’s gorgeous mood music nonetheless. This album comes on clear vinyl and includes a poster.

Paddy Hanna

Imagine I’m Hoping (Strange Brew)

Paddy Hanna has little time for being any flavour of any month, so for the past few years the Dubliner has focused on writing songs that are effortlessly infectious. His fourth solo album (produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox) continues in this vein with a gathering of songs that reference Hanna’s pandemic engagement, his wedding, and, as the album was being recorded, becoming a father. Available on limited-edition buffalo-yellow vinyl.

Queen

The Miracle Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition (EMI)

Alongside other box-set goodies – five CDs, one DVD/Blu-ray disc, a hardback book featuring previously unpublished photographs and recollections from all the band members – there is for the devoted Queen fan something very close to the Holy Grail: the long-lost original LP cut of the band’s classic 1989 album. The vinyl album marks the first time that Too Much Love Will Kill You has been presented as part of the album, in the exact position, on side one, that it was allocated in 1989.

Arctic Monkeys

The Car (Domino Records)

Sleek and fine-tuned, the seventh album from Arctic Monkeys intuitively correlates with the Sheffield band’s 2018 album, Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino, in that the use of gently orchestrated music you might find lounging in Burt Bacharach’s bachelor pad, and singer Alex Turner’s nicely turned lyrics, create sublime mood music. Limited edition comes on custard vinyl with spot-gloss cover image, a printed inner sleeve featuring lyrics and album credits, and download card.

Kendrick Lamar

Mr Morale & The Big Steppers (Interscope)

On his fifth album, the prize-winning rapper presents a double album’s worth of tracks that take the self-discovery route (socio-realistic trauma, domestic conflicts) without losing sight of classy, hyper-exciting hip hop. Comes on two gold-vinyl discs.

Ian Dury

New Boots and Panties!! (BMG)

What set Ian Dury apart from other spiky-haired proponents of punk rock were his age (he was at least 10 years older than most of his counterparts) and his love of music hall/vaudeville. The result – one of the most enduring albums of the late 1970s – is a record with a difference whose songs (My Old Man, Wake Up and Make Love With Me, Clever Trevor) often make you smile. Limited edition comes on transparent-orange vinyl. Sadly, though, no new boots or panties. Surely the record label is missing a marketing trick here?

Bruce Springsteen

Only the Strong Survive (Sony)

This album of smart, reverential cover versions focuses on the soul and R&B songs the Boss absorbed when he was a teenager playing bars and earning his stars’n’stripes. Limited edition features two standard-weight (180g) vinyl discs (collectable colours are nightshade green and sundance orange) in a gatefold jacket; includes printed inner sleeves and a poster. Available only from brucespringsteenuk.store.

Various

Guerrilla Girls! She-Punks & Beyond 1975-2016 (Ace)

A double album of she-punk music? Yes, please. Acts include Patti Smith, Bikini Kill, X-Ray Spex, The Slits, The Raincoats, L7, Babes in Toyland, and Skinny Girl Diet. Limited edition features four vinyl records plus an introductory essay (by the music writer Lucy O’Brien), artfully designed inner sleeves, track-by-track outlines, and exclusive interviews with many of the featured artists. More details from acerecords.co.uk.

Stormzy

This Is What I Mean (0207 Def Jam)

After a few years of semi-reclusiveness, Stormzy returns with a far mellower but no less important album that focuses on past relationships and the progression of black culture. The hip-hop star recorded the album on an island in an Essex estuary, which, along with the lyrics, lends a sense of isolation and calm to the music. Limited edition comes on two clear-vinyl discs.

Elvis Costello

Extreme Honey (The Very Best of the Warner Years) (Warners)

Spanning 1989-1997, Costello’s time at Warner Bros produced several hit singles, including Veronica and The Other Side of Summer. This collection also features a selection of superior tracks from albums released in the same time frame. Limited edition of 4,000 comes on two gold-vinyl discs.

Sugababes

Anniversary Remixes (London)

One of the most successful all-woman pop groups return with a bang in 2023, and this is a timely reminder of just how good they are: remixes of their classic songs Overload, Run for Cover and Same Old Story by the likes of Metronomy and Blood Orange. Limited edition of 3,000 comes on blue vinyl, accompanied by archive photographs.