A Record Collector's Guide

I guess it's about time I got around to finishing this page up.  This page has been the most requested of those who have contacted me.  I was missing a lot of the images, so it took me a little longer than planned.  Here we go, though...Sub Pop LPs.  Many thanks go to Matt Mona for providing a large number of pictures for this page.  If you happen to have any of the other missing images, please .

SP10 V/A

Sub Pop 100

Sub Pop SP10, released July 1986

The first piece of Sub Pop vinyl ever.  A compilation of all sorts of bands that never really made subsequent appearances on Sub Pop (except for Sonic Youth, of course...). All copies were on black vinyl.  It also comes with a nice insert giving some details on the bands.  Limited to 5000 copies.  The price varies on it a little, but it generally goes for somewhere in the neighborhood of $45.

Insert

SP11 Green River

Dry as a Bone

Sub Pop SP11, released June 1987

This one basically qualifies as legendary at this point.  Green River's first on Sub Pop.  These are all on black vinyl, but the inserts varied a bit.  The first pressing of 2000 came with yellow inserts.  The next batch came with pink inserts.  I have heard that there were only 500 with pink inserts, but I don't really believe that, as the pink ones seem to be more common than the yellow ones.  Regardless, the yellow ones sell for more.  There were also additional copies on the market with no inserts.

Yellow Insert

Pink Insert

SP12 Soundgarden

Screaming Life

Sub Pop SP12, released October 1987

What to do with this one...the first several Sub Pop releases all have their grand places in history.  This was Soundgarden's debut EP.  There are many colors to account for here.  The first pressing is still the big one: 500 on orange vinyl (some discographies say 600).  There were several subsequent pressings due to the popularity of the album, and they were on many colors due to Erika Records' involvement.  To complicate the situation, there were also several important sleeve variations.  Alright, let's get to it.  Here's what Matt Mona (who provided many of the images) and I have pieced together:

1. 1st pressing: 500-600 on orange vinyl.  Black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in orange print on the spine.

2. Black vinyl,  black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in orange print on the spine.

3. Black vinyl, sepia tone sleeve, no bar code, "Screaming Life" in red print on the spine.

4. Erika pressings...known colors: I have seen blue marble (these vary in amount of marbling and darkness of the blue color), red, purple marble, pink marble, and have heard of a mint green version, though that one is unconfirmed.  Right.  Sepia tone sleeve, small bar code on the upper left of the back of the sleeve.

5. Black vinyl, black & white sleeve, "Screaming Life" in red print on the spine, bar code on the bottom right of the back of the sleeve, www.subpop.com on the bottom of the sleeve.

All sell for a fair amount now other than the black ones (the early black ones should go for more than they do).  The blue, purple, and red versions all appear with similar frequency.  The pink marble one is rarer, and I have yet to confirm the existence of the mint green one.

SP15 Green River

Rehab Doll

Sub Pop SP15, released May 1988

Glitterhouse GR0031 (Germany)

Another instant legend.  The first 1000 of these were on green vinyl.  There were also black ones pressed in this first batch.  These green and black copies contained printed inner sleeves that served as inserts (one side of this sleeve contained lyrics).  Later, there was another black batch made, but these had different labels and contained no inner sleeve insert.  Also released in Germany on Glitterhouse.

Inner Sleeve	Test Pressing

SP16 The Fluid

Clear Black Paper

Glitterhouse GR0026 (Germany)

Sub Pop SP16, released May 1988

Fluid Album #2.  The Glitterhouse version came first for this one, all on black vinyl.  The Fluid then signed to Sub Pop back in the label's very early days.  There are a number of sources that cite the Afghan Whigs as the first non-Seattle Sub Pop signing, but it was the Fluid.  Fo' real.  Anyway, Sub Pop took the album, replaced four of the tracks (all of the replacement songs were available on the Freak Magnet EP), changed the sleeve, and put it out in 1988.  The first pressing was on blue vinyl and limited to 500 copies.  Later versions were on pink marble and black. On the sleeves for the later pressings, the shaded areas appear to be darker.  It's significant enough to where I can eyeball the difference easily in a record store.  The first pressing came with Sub Pop's first catalogue, a double-sided full page detailing SP10 through SP19.

Insert - Side 1	Insert - Side 2

SP17 Soundgarden

Fopp

Sub Pop SP17, released August 1988

Many of the releases of this era in Sub Pop's history can be described as legendary.  No difference here.  Later lumped in with Screaming Life for cassette and CD versions, this one is still a classic collectible.  It came in a die-cut sleeve, and was limited to 2000 copies, all on black vinyl.  It came in a die-cut sleeve that was black on the front with some black, difficult to read print on it.

Insert

SP20 Girl Trouble

Hit It or Quit It

K/Sub Pop SP20, released September 1988

This was a joint release between Sub Pop and K Records.  Girl Trouble was never really a Sub Pop band.  They had to make their appearance, though.  The first pressing was on black vinyl, and can be recognized by the insert.  The yellow marble version showed up a little later on.  There may have been a later black pressing concurrent with the yellow marble, but this is unconfirmed.  The later pressings contained no inserts.

Insert

SP21 Mudhoney

Superfuzz Bigmuff

Sub Pop SP21, released October 1988

Glitterhouse GR0034 (Germany)

Well, it doesn't get much more iconic than this (until we get to Bleach...).  Mudhoney's first album.  The first pressing was of 1000 on black vinyl.  The first pressing came with a poster.  After this first press, some other colors surfaced, including blue marble, purple marble (normal and dark), red, and grey marble.  The grey one is the rarest of these.  There was a later black pressing; the sleeve contained a bar code and the Sub Pop URL on the back.  In 2009, Sub Pop repressed this album for the 20th anniversary of its original release.  This version is on a dark grey marble vinyl.  It comes with a poster, similar to that of the original release, and a download coupon.  The labels are a darker yellow than on the earlier pressings.

		2009 Edition

SP22 Blood Circus

Primal Rock Therapy

Sub Pop SP22, released January 1989

Glitterhouse GR0038 (Germany)

This band flopped.  Sub Pop used to tout them in their catalogues as only having been liked by the people working at the label.  I thought they were decent, actually.  They had one album and one single.  The single gets a lot more attention.  The first 1000 copies of this LP were on red vinyl.  Sub Pop says 1649 total were pressed, which indicates that there are 649 black copies floating around.  Neither black nor red will break the bank.

Sub Pop Insert

SP24 Swallow

Tupelo TUPLP1 (Sub Pop SP24), released March 1989

Swallow.  Forever linked to Blood Circus.  This one drove me crazy for a little while, as I could get no definitive opinion on whether there were separate Sub Pop and Tupelo pressings.  There aren't.  It just says Tupelo.  Black vinyl.

SP25 V/A

Sub Pop 200 3xLP Box Set

Sub Pop SP25, released December 1988

It doesn't really get more black than this, now, does it?  Sub Pop hit the jackpot with unnecessary marketing on this set.  It contained three records in a big, fancy box with a big, fancy booklet full of Charles Peterson photos.  It was limited to 5000 copies.  Total overkill - all of the tracks would have fit on a single record.  Ya gotta love it.  It is only as expensive as it is because of the Nirvana collectors (it has the only studio version of "Spank Thru" on it).  There are 5000...shouldn't cost that much.

SP27 Tad

God's Balls

Sub Pop SP27, released March 1989

Glitterhouse GR0051 (Germany)

Tad, you are a classy bastard.  This was Tad's first full-length.  The first 2000 copies came on black vinyl in gatefold sleeves.  500 of these came with a "Manzine."  No, really.  Look - there's a picture.  There were further black copies, along with some blue marble copies, released later in normal sleeves.

Manzine

Gatefold Sleeve

SP31 Walkabouts

Cataract

Sub Pop SP31, released March 1989

Glitterhouse GR0073 (Germany)

Shortly after the Walkabouts made a mildly-out-of-place folksy appearance on Sub Pop 200, their first Sub Pop LP came out.  According to Sub Pop, the first 3000 copies contained a lyric sheet.  Apparently, when they ran out of lyric sheets to include, they started putting in giant letter size Singles Club subscription forms (we see this again with Bleach below).  The following was recently discovered in a sealed copy.

Insert

SP34 Nirvana

Bleach

Sub Pop SP34, released June 1989

Sub Pop SP834 2xLP, released 2009

Tupelo TUPLP6 (UK)

Waterfront DAMP114 (Australia)

What can I say about Bleach?  This album means everything in the realm of Sub Pop.  Fabulous album that, in the end, led to the saving of the label.  There are many, many editions of Bleach.  The authority on it is over at sliver.it, from which many of these images were taken (thank you, Enrico...).  The first pressing was of 1000 on white vinyl.  Some of these came with posters.  The second pressing was of 2000 on black vinyl.  Most of these came with posters.  Those that didn't came with giant letter-size Singles Club ads.  These things actually affect the price.  The black ones with posters generally go in the 150-170 range.  Those with inserts sell for 80-90, and the ones with neither generally go in the 70-80 range.  

The 3rd pressings, done by Erika, were on a huge variety of colors (see below).  Some are much rarer than others, and this is reflected in the pricing.  There is one specific standout edition in this press run: 500 copies on red & white swirled vinyl.  These came sealed in plastic along with a blue vinyl Sliver 7".  They are also numbered.  All of these things combine to make this a very expensive edition.

There is one pressing that does not fit with the rest: the so-called "Iceberg" pressing.  As the story goes, these were not used by the label for fear that they would be mistaken for the white pressing.  There were very few of these.  As such, it sells for an obscene amount of money.  

There was another later pressing on black vinyl, but is easily distinguished from the earlier black pressing.  First, there is a bar code and the Sub Pop web URL on the back of the sleeve.  Next, the Nirvana logo on the front of the sleeve is in a different position.  On all earlier pressings, the logo butts right up against the top edge of the sleeve.  On this later edition, it is evenly spaced between the top edge and the picture.

But why stop there?  In 2009, Sub Pop reissued Bleach again.  This new version ("Deluxe Edition") is a double LP, and carries a different catalogue number (SP834).  The second record contains the band's live performance from February 9, 1990 in Portland, OR.  The first 10,000 copies of the Deluxe Edition are on white vinyl.  Some copies have some dark streaks running through them.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to this.  Heavyweight vinyl was used for this pressing.  There have been some reports of these records not playing very well on some people's turntables.  I cannot confirm or deny this.  Sub Pop has also done black vinyl copies.  The release comes with a download coupon.

Test Pressing (1st)	Test Pressing (3rd)	SP34 Bleach - Error Pressing

SP36 The Fluid

Roadmouth

Sub Pop SP36, released June 1989

Glitterhouse GR0055

Released concurrently on Sub Pop and Glitterhouse in 1989.  The sleeve was the same for both except for the coloring.  The Glitterhouse one had an olive green tint, while the Sub Pop one was more pink.  As with all others, the Glitterhouse version was on black vinyl.  The Sub Pop version...not so much.  A member of the band told me that the first pressing was of equal numbers of pink marble and red marble copies, and believed it was a total press run of 1000.  The grey marble and black copies were later pressings.  Other colors may exist.  The only cd version of the full Roadmouth album was on Glitterhouse.  Most of the album was later released in cd form along with the Glue EP by Sub Pop.

SP38 Les Thugs

Electric Troubles

Sub Pop SP38, released August 1989

Vinyl Solution SOL-5 (UK)

Glitterhouse GR0039 (Germany)

Originally released on the UK label Vinyl Solution (SOL-5), then re-released for Sub Pop on black vinyl.

SP41 Cat Butt

Journey To the Center of...

Sub Pop SP41, released August 1989

Glitterhouse GR0067 (Germany)

Exists on green and black vinyl.  The first 1000 were on green.  Plus, the album is called "Journey to the Center of...Cat Butt," so how can you go wrong?

SP42 Cosmic Psychos

Go the Hack

Sub Pop SP42, released December 1989

Cosmic Psychos.  Exists on red (1000) and black vinyl.  That is all.

SP44 Mudhoney

Sub Pop SP44, released 1989

Glitterhouse GR0069 (Germany)

1st 3000 on black vinyl in gatefold sleeves with posters.  These sell for pretty small amounts.  Later pressings exist on many colors.  Known colors are: yellow marble, green, clear, grey marble (varies from light to dark), blue marble (varies from light to dark), lavender marble and black.  There is also theoretically a pink pressing from this time period (unconfirmed).  In 2009, Sub Pop released a 20th anniversary edition of this record, which was pressed on a pink vinyl.  There have already been variations that have surfaced for this one - solid pink, light pink marble, and hot pink marble have all been seen.  These reissue copies have different labels on them.  The sleeves are also very different from the originals. The reissues come with posters and download coupons.

Test Pressing
		2009 Pressing

SP49 Tad

Salt Lick

Sub Pop SP49, released February 1990

Glitterhouse GR0076 (Germany)

Tad's back, on black vinyl.  This record came with a large letter-size Singles Club insert.

Insert

Test Pressing