RecordScoutGet the app

The Stranger vinyl value

The Stranger — Billy Joel album cover
Asks start at
$28
Basis
8 eBay asks
Live eBay asks, Sep 22, 2026; sold prices usually close lower. How we price

Billy Joel — The Stranger: pressings we track

PressingCatalogCountryNotesAsking
2013 Mobile Fidelity Sound LabMFSL 2-383USLimited Edition, Numbered, Reissuefrom $90
Undated Columbia34987USReissuefrom $28
Undated ColumbiaJC 34987USPitman Pressing, Sterling Masteringfrom $28
13 more pressings we track (no quoted eBay range)
PressingCatalogCountryNotes
1980 CBSHC 34987USReissue, Remastered, Half-Speed Mastered
1987 CBS450914 1UKReissue
1998 Simply VinylSVLP 0079UKReissue, 180 gram
2008 Columbia88697 31858 1USReissue, 180 gram
2008 Columbia88697 31858 1USReissue
2010 Music On VinylMOVLP170EuropeReissue, 180 gram
2012 Music On VinylMOVLP170EuropeReissue, 180 gram
2017 BrookvaleBRK 284USLimited Edition, Picture Disc, Reissue
2022 Columbia19075939201USReissue, Grey Swirl
2024 Sony Music19075939201EuropeReissue
2024 Columbia19075939201AUSReissue
2024 Columbia88697 31858 1USReissue
Undated CBS450914 1EuropeReissue

No quoted range right now (why). Scan your copy in the app for a current read.

17 pressings tracked, 16 shown · catalog of 974,753 releases, August 2026

What separates the pressings

Oldest we track, 1980First released 1977; our table starts at 1980 (CBS, US). A copy older than 1980 predates everything here. Treat it as the find.
Collector variants1980 US: Reissue, Remastered, Half-Speed Mastered; 2013 US: Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue; 2017 US: Limited Edition, Picture Disc, Reissue. Scarce on purpose; collectors pay for that.
Reissues, 1998+9 pressings. Easy to find, priced as listening copies.

How to identify your copy

Three checks, in the order worth doing them.

  1. 1

    Match the catalog number. It is printed on the spine and the record label. Check it together with the country against the pressings table above: the same number can appear in more than one country.

  2. 2

    Read the runout. The code etched in the dead wax near the label names the exact pressing. On the 1980 US pressing it reads “HAL 34987” on side one and “HBL 34987” on side two. Trust the etching over the jacket: covers get traded around, dead wax stays put.

  3. 3

    Grade the condition. A clean copy and a worn one of the same pressing sit several grades, and several multiples, apart. Grade record and sleeve separately; see our grading guide.

Do not price the cover. A later disc in a 1977 jacket is a reissue, whatever the sleeve says: the pressing lives in the runout etching and on the label.

Questions

Which pressing of The Stranger is worth the most?

Original 1977 pressings lead; they predate everything in our table, and that scarcity is the point. Among tracked copies, the 1980 pressings come first. Scarcer variants (the 1980 “Reissue, Remastered, Half-Speed Mastered” and the 2013 “Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue”) can beat an ordinary early copy. After that it is all condition: the gap between near mint and VG is usually larger than the gap between pressings.

How do I tell which pressing I have?

Match the catalog number on the spine and label against the table above, check the country, then read the etched code in the runout groove. On the 1980 US pressing the runout reads “HAL 34987”. A period jacket with a later disc inside is still a reissue.

How much is The Stranger worth today?

Sellers ask from $28 for the pressings we track (eBay, Sep 22, 2026). Sold prices usually close lower. Scan your copy in the app for the range on your exact pressing and condition.

Not sure which pressing you have? Photograph the label and RecordScout names it, then shows a current value range for its condition.

Open in the App StoreFree to try, iPhone, no account.
More from Billy Joel