Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, and for the past few years, Record Store Day has gotten in on it too, in addition to their usual April edition. Whether you’re looking for gifts for the vinyl lover in your life, or hoping to pick up some rare gems for yourself, there are countless releases coming to independent record stores this Friday (11/29/24), including from massive iconic names like The Beatles, the Ramones, Billie Eilish, the Grateful Dead, Stevie Nicks, Kacey Musgraves, Rage Against the Machine, Olivia Rodrigo, Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, U2, and more, as well as plenty of cool, slightly more-under-the-radar titles. It’s hard to narrow down all the stuff we’d like to own to a list of 10, and in fact we couldn’t do that. Here’s a list of this year’s RSD Black Friday titles that we’re interested in picking up, and this one goes to 11. Browse the full list of RSD Black Friday releases at RSD’s website, check out a related new feature at Goldmine, and check out our list below. What items do you have your eye on?

Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady – Reno Road: Unreleased tracks from the ’60’s

Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady were collaborators and blues devotees even before they joined Jefferson Airplane (and before they formed Hot Tuna), though recordings of Jorma and Jack in those days is very rare. For this year’s RSD Black Friday, 26 never-before-releasded tracks are coming out in the form of Reno Road: Unreleased tracks from the ’60’s, available on 2xLP and CD. It includes blues standards that went on to become Hot Tuna staples, as well as some material that the Airplane was known for performing. They’re saying this limited-to-2000 run is the only pressing worldwide, so this is a truly rare gem that you might not wanna sleep on.

Jerry Garcia – Electric on the Eel: August 29th, 1987

In 1987, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia was asked by Wavy Gravy to play a benefit show for his Hog Farm Collective at French’s Camp, a tucked-away location on the Eel River in Piercy, California about three hours north of San Francisco. It ended up being the first in a five-year-long tradition which was later immortalized in 2019’s Electric on the Eel box set, and now ATO Records is bringing just that first 1987 Eel River show to vinyl for its first time outside of the box set. The show included covers of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy Cliff, Chuck Berry, and more, as well as Jerry staples like “Deal,” “Gomorrah,” and “Run for the Roses.” This limited-to-4000 Orange Sunshine variant is an “RSD First” variant, and will be followed by a wider release.

MF DOOM – Operation: Doomsday 25th Anniversary

It’s hard to imagine it’s been four years since we lost the late, great MF DOOM and part of that is because his presence in culture is just as strong as ever. This year alone, three classic DOOM albums celebrated big anniversaries–Mm..Food and Madvillainy turned 20, and Operation: Doomsday turned 25–and to celebrate Operation: Doomsday, his label Metal Face Records is putting out a limited, RSD-exclusive reissue across two 2xLP vinyl variants, cassette, and in a tip of the hat to the ’90s, a longbox CD. The underground rap classic sounds as timeless as ever, and these reissues come with both the original iconic artwork and new variant art.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers [MIXED] by Boys Noize

Luca Guadagnino‘s steamy tennis/romance drama Challengers, 2024’s best film starring Zendaya not to also feature giant sandworms, got extra heat from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross whose techno-fueled score made it perfect for the clubs and the court. Taking it even more onto the dancefloor was Boys Noize (aka German producer Alexander Ridha) who turned nine of their Challengers’ bangers into one continuous 28-minute mix. Previously only available digitally, Challengers [MIXED] comes to vinyl as a RSD First release and is limited to 2100 copies.

Joni Mitchell – Hejira Demos

Joni Mitchell’s 1976 album Hejira is one of the major highlights of her mid ’70s era and it’s notable for its personnel of jazz musicians, following Joni working primarily with rock musicians in the past. But before she roped in those musicians, Joni recorded solo demos for the album, and those were released as part of this year’s Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) box set. Now, the demos are getting pulled for a limited, RSD-exclusive release. Of note: Chaka Khan sings backing vocals on “Black Crow.”

The English Beat – Special Beat Service 2-LP Deluxe Edition

The English Beat, or just The Beat if you are from the UK, never made the same album twice during their short late-’70s / early-’80s run. Their 1980 debut, I Just Can’t Stop It, is a ska classic; 1981’s Wha’ppen? saw them exploring dub reggae, African music, and more socially conscious lyrics; and 1982’s Special Beat Service went more towards cosmopolitan pop and yielded US new wave / MTV hits with the singles “Save it For Later” and “I Confess.” The double LP Deluxe Edition of Special Beat Service features the original album on the first LP (translucent red vinyl) and a treasure-trove of b-sides, non-LP singles, remixes and live cuts on the second disc (translucent blue vinyl), including “March of the Swivelheads,” an instrumental dance remix of the album’s “Rotating Head,” which was famously used in the “race home through the backyards” sequence in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. This RSD Black Friday exclusive is limited to 3000 copies.

Angelo Badalamenti – Music For Film and Television

Best known for his three-decade creative partnership with filmmaker David Lynch, the late Angelo Badalamenti scored dozens of films and television series since the 1970s. This double-LP set, pressed on translucent red vinyl, includes much of his best-known work, including the themes for Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, and The Straight Story, plus works from a few of his non-Lynch scores, including The City of Lost Children, A Very Long Engagement (including “Who Will Take My Dreams Away” featuring Marianne Faithfull), and The Comfort of Strangers. Music For Film and Television is an RSD Black Friday Exclusive (1500 copies pressed) and features original artwork by Brianna Ashby.

Helmet – Betty

NYC’s own Helmet were on fire during the early/mid ’90s, and their third album, 1994’s Betty, is one of those oddball major label gems that benefitted from the record industry’s post-Nirvana feeding frenzy. It also holds up extremely well today, and it’s influenced all kinds of bands across hardcore, post-hardcore, noise rock, nu metal, and more. The album got a 30th anniversary vinyl reissue earlier this year for Interscope Vinyl Collective members, and now it’s getting another reissue, beginning with an RSD First pressing, limited to 3500.

Various Artists – The Elephant 6 Recording Co. (Soundtrack)

C.B. Stockfleth’s 2023 documentary The Elephant 6 Recording Co. immortalizes the beloved, super influential Elephant 6 collective, which birthed bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, Elf Control, of Montreal, and more. The official soundtrack features a good selection from the collective’s vast discography, none of which have been on vinyl before, including a pair of previously unreleased Olivia Tremor Control tracks. It comes packaged in a custom gatefold jacket and is limited to 2000 copies.

Tegan and Sara – So Jealous (20th Anniversary)

Tegan and Sara’s breakthrough fourth album So Jealous includes some of the catchiest, most enduring songs of their career. The album has been remastered for its 20th anniversary edition, and it comes with a limited edition poster and includes a second LP of demos. Along with demos of album tracks, there are five demos of b-sides that have never been released on vinyl before.

Steve Martin – “King Tut” (Picture Disc)

The United States had King Tut Fever in the late ’70s when the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibit traveled across six American cities, a wildly popular tour produced by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Capitalizing on that was Steve Martin, who was still selling out arenas with his wild and crazy standup act, who released a novelty single in 1978 as Steve Martin & The Toot Uncommons (which included members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Featuring such couplets as “Dancin’ by the Nile / The ladies love his style” and “He coulda won a Grammy / buried in his jammies,” “King Tut” went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Steve memorably performed it on Saturday Night Live. This RSD Exclusive 12″ picture disc features the the original release’s b-sides, “Hoedown At Alice’s” and “Sally Goodin.” 3000 copies pressed.

For more, check out Goldmine’s new inteview with RSD founder Michael Kurtz where they discuss this year’s Black Friday releases and more.