These were the 7"s that started everything. They shaped 90's vinyl collecting and beyond. Many of the singles on this page can be called legendary. It began with a few singles, mostly on color vinyl. Then, color vinyl stopped for a while, but would return with a vengeance. The earliest Sub Pop singles exist on transparent black vinyl (giving a brown effect), rather than solid black vinyl. This was an unintended effect of the pressing process. Some black copies are thinner, lighter vinyl than others. The lighter ones exhibit this semi-translucent brown effect. The black versions of the first six Sub Pop singles were all translucent black. The Sonic Youth/Mudhoney split 7" (SP26) started to change over, but those are still mostly translucent black, as far as I can tell. I would not be surprised to find a solid one, though. On the Flaming Lips single (SP28), we started to see both solid black and translucent black. Solid black appears to be more common. Basically everything after that point seems to have been on solid black, wit the exception of the SP50 Dwarves single. Almost all of these were on translucent black. I have heard recent reports of solid black ones, but cannot confirm this yet.

SP12a Soundgarden

Hunted Down b/w Nothing to Say

Sub Pop SP12a 7", released June 1987 (U.S.)

The first Sub Pop 7". 500 copies on blue vinyl with a blue paper sleeve. The value bounced around a lot for a number of years, but has shot upward recently. This record was also bootlegged. Beware fakes. They are regularly sold as the real thing. I got burned. The fakes are still rare, but the collecting community is increasingly aware of them. They are not very valuable.

In 2010, Sub Pop re-pressed this single on orange vinyl with a picture sleeve. 5,475 copies were pressed was released for Record Store Day. The price has dropped way down for the orange one.

Originals
• Clear blue vinyl with no marbling.
• "Soundgarden" on label: not cut off at all
• Matrix codes in trail-off wax: R10866 and R10867
• Comes with blue paper sleeve

Fakes
• Thin blue vinyl with slight marbling
• "Soundgarden" on label butts up against the edge and can be slightly cut off
• Matrix code in trail-off wax: 19c87
• Blue paper sleeve is generally missing

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP12a Blue	350-500	5	Up
SP12a Orange	5-8	1	Down

Original

Fake

Sleeve	Plain blue construction paper

This page was last updated on October 11, 2019.

SP13 Blood Circus

Two Way Street b/w Six Foot Under

Sub Pop SP13 7", released June 1988 (U.S.)

The second Sub Pop single. 800 copies on red vinyl and 200 on black. The black ones were mainly used as promotional items. The single had no picture sleeve, but did come in a plain red construction paper sleeve.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP13 Red	20-30	4	Stable
SP13 Translucent Black	25-40	8	Stable

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Plain red construction paper
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain silver labels

This page was last updated on October 11, 2019.

SP14 Swallow

Trapped b/w Guts

Sub Pop SP14 7", released June 1988 (U.S.)

Sub Pop single #3. 600 copies on yellow vinyl and 200 on black. The black ones were mainly used as promotional items. The single had no picture sleeve, but did come in a plain yellow paper sleeve.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP14 Yellow	15-30	5	Stable
SP14 Black	25-40	8	Stable

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Plain yellow construction paper
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain silver labels
Credits	Costa: Test pressing image

This page was last updated on October 11, 2019.

SP18 Mudhoney

 

Touch Me I'm Sick b/w Sweet Young Thing (Ain't Sweet No More)

Sub Pop SP18 7", released August 1988 (U.S.)

Oy. Where to start with this one...one of the most famous 7"s from the Sub Pop era, Mudhoney's debut Sub Pop single exists in almost too many incarnations to discuss. The first pressing was of 800 on reddish-brown vinyl (see pic), with an additional 200 on black vinyl, most of which were used for promotional purposes (these were reportedly on both solid and translucent black, but I have not had either in my hands to confirm). These copies did not have picture sleeves and had the classic toilet labels, which had a light blue-green tint to them. In addition, there were a few other colors of vinyl (10-15 each) that came with toilet labels. Many have now surfaced. I've seen yellow, blue, clear, red, orange, and several mixed colors. There may be more. There are several stories floating around about these, one of which is that they were a gift from the pressing plant for being late with the order. I don't know for certain. What I do know is that these are all preposterously valuable.

Second pressing: Touch Me I'm Sick was later re-released with a picture sleeve. It was released this way during the period in which Erika Records was pressing all of Sub Pop's color vinyl releases on a huge variety of colors. As a result, there are many colors of this one out there. Most colors are more or less equally common. The brown version is quite scarce, though, and has gotten a lot more expensive. The black version is very common.

This was actually a completely different version of the record, with distinct matrix codes. All subsequent versions were from the same mold. The back of the sleeve has "Second Edition" printed on it. Sorry about some of those images...some were scanned with the sleeves behind them. I cleaned them up, and the transparent ones look a little odd.

Third pressing: After the color vinyl parade, a third pressing of the single came out with the same picture sleeve, but on black vinyl with Sub Pop's mid-90's era black labels. The back of the sleeve has "Third Edition" printed on it. This one isn't worth much.

Fourth pressing (3b): Sometime in 2006, Sub Pop threw us a curveball. They released a version of this single with "third edition" picture sleeves, but on black vinyl with toilet labels. This is where it gets screwy. The toilet labels are slightly different from the original ones. These had either a blue background color, much darker than the original, or a white background. Very interesting to see...I paid way too much for one of these when it first showed up on the market. Oh well, at least I wasn't the guy who dropped $500 on one...

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP18 1st Pressing: Reddish-brown vinyl	125-175	4	Stable
SP18 1st Pressing: Black	175-250	8	Volatile
SP18 1st Pressing: Rarer Colors (yellow, blue/purple, clear, red, orange, green, any mixes of the above)	500-700	10	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Green	15-25	3	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Purple	20-25	3	Down
SP18 2nd Pressing: Purple Marble	20-25	4	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Pink	15-25	3	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Blue Marble	15-25	3	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Light Blue w/ Marbling	15-25	2	Stable
SP18 2nd Pressing: Brown	75-125	7	Volatile
SP18 2nd Pressing: Black	5	1	Stable
SP18 3rd Pressing: Black	2-4	1	Stable
SP18 4th Pressing: Black, Blue Toilet Label	5-10	1	Stable
SP18 4th Pressing: Black, White Toilet Label	5-10	1	Stable

1st Pressings

Test Press

2nd Pressings

3rd-4th Pressings

Test Press 3rd/4th

3rd Press

Sleeve	1st pressing: Plain white paper 2nd-4th Pressings: Paper foldover
Test Pressing	1st pressing: Black vinyl, large hole, plain white labels 4th Pressing: Black vinyl, small hole, yellow Erika labels
Credits	James: Called my attention to the red 1st press Ryan: Orange 1st press image Costa: Green, brown 2nd pressing images, 3rd press image Stan Ballard: Most of the other 2nd pressing images

This page was last updated on October 12, 2019.

SP19 Tad

Daisy b/w Ritual Device

Sub Pop SP19 7", released August 1988 (U.S.)

Dear world: meet Tad. This one was released with no picture sleeve - instead, it came in a PVC sleeve. 964 copies were on clear vinyl. The clear ones seem to go through big value waves. It spiked again a few years ago and has now settled back into the $40-60 range.

There are 200 black copies out there as well. Those sell consistently for above $100, but have never really taken off. Then, there are the gold ones...Sub Pop said there were 70 of these. I have only seen this one a couple of times.

If you are buying this record, pay extra attention to the condition. The PVC sleeve can cause the vinyl to deteriorate over time, resulting in a hazy appearance and distorted sound. This now came out over 30 years ago (!)...that's a long time to sit if the record has been in the PVC the whole time.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP19 Clear	40-60	4	Stable
SP19 Translucent Black	100-125	7	Stable
SP19 Gold	150-200	9	Volatile

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Plain white paper, some in clear PVC
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, large hole, plain white labels

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP23 Nirvana

 

Love Buzz b/w Big Cheese

Sub Pop SP23 7", released November 1988 (U.S.)

Sub Pop Singles Club #1

Nirvana's legendary first single. 1,000 hand-numbered copies, 200 additional copies with red marker across the number space on the sleeve. All are on transparent black vinyl. The value fluctuates a bit on this record, but $2000 is the minimum these days. Even if you catch it in a downswing, though, it will cost you an awful lot of money. For some reason, the "red stripe" copies seem to sell for more than the numbered ones, which never made any sense to me. It's the same record...these were just theoretically used as promos. Of course, the most valuable copies are the low numbers. Again, it's the same record. People just like low numbers.

There are more complete guides out there, but the basic ways to recognize a real one are: 1. The names Alice Wheeler and Susan Sasic on the back of the sleeve are legible. 2. The side A trail-off wax reads: Why don't you trade those guitars for shovels? L-31540 SP-23-A kdisc; side B reads: L-31540X SP-23-B kdisc.

Check out the Love Buzz owner's list over at lovebuzz7.com, recently reconstituted from the sadly defunct sliver.it.

Please note that there are MANY bootlegs out there. They are not terribly difficult to spot once you know what to look for. Remarkably, the bootlegs also sell for a considerable amount of money...at one point back in 2008, the fakes were going for over $300. Asinine.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP23 Translucent Black - Hand-numbered Sleeve	2200-2500	5	Stable
SP23 Translucent Black - Red marker stripe Sleeve	2000-2500	7	Volatile

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Paper foldover, hand-numbered or w/ red stripe in place of a number
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain white labels

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP26 Sonic Youth/Mudhoney Split 7"

 

Touch Me I'm Sick b/w Halloween

Sub Pop SP26 7", released December 1988 (U.S.)

Sub Pop Singles Club #2

Glitterhouse GR0056 12", released 1989 (Germany)

Blast First BFFP 46 12", released 1989 (UK)

500 on clear vinyl and 2,500 on translucent black (some may be on solid black). Sonic Youth and Mudhoney cover each other. A classic.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP26 Clear	35-50	5	Stable
SP26 Translucent Black	15-25	2	Down

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Paper foldover
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain white labels

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP28 Flaming Lips

Drug Machine b/w Strychnine/(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

Sub Pop SP28 7", released January 1989 (U.S.)

Sub Pop Singles Club #3

Glitterhouse GR0043 7", released 1989 (Germany)

1,500 copies, all on black vinyl. Many of these are on solid black vinyl, but some are out there on translucent black. Based on the number of these I have seen, I would guess it is about 2:1 solid/translucent. A version of this record also appeared for sale in 2017 with a small center hole. I had never seen this before. Looks to be very scarce.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP28 Black	20-25	2	Stable
SP28 Translucent Black	20-25	4	Stable
SP28 Black, Small Center Hole	35-45	9	N/A

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Paper foldover
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain white labels

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP29 Les Thugs

Chess and Crimes b/w Sunday Time

Sub Pop SP29 7", released February 1989 (U.S.)

Sub Pop Singles Club #4

1,500 copies, all on black vinyl.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP29 Black	10-15	2	Stable

Test Pressing

Sleeve	Paper foldover
Test Pressing	Black vinyl, small hole, plain white labels

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP30 Helios Creed

Nothing Wrong b/w The Sky

Sub Pop SP30 7", released March 1989 (U.S.)

Sub Pop Singles Club #5

1,500 copies, all on black vinyl.

Version	Value ($)	Scarcity	Price Trending
SP30 Black	6-10	2	Stable

Sleeve	Paper foldover

This page was last updated on October 17, 2019.

SP32 The Afghan Whigs

Scarcity Score	Definition
10	Near impossible: Fewer than 50 copies or publicly sold every few years
8-9	Very rare: 50-199 copies or publicly sold 1-2 times per year
6-7	Rare: 200-499 copies or publicly sold a few times a year
4-5	Medium: 500-999 copies or publicly sold ~10 times a year
1-3	Common: 1000+ copies, readily available, or publicly sold 20+ times a year

Estimated values are based on recent auction results or online sales. Commercial use of images on this site is not permitted. Non-commercial use of images permitted, with attribution to Pette Discographies. All images copyright their respective owners.