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Whitney vinyl value

Whitney — Whitney Houston album cover
Median ask · 1987 AL-8405
$22
Typical asks
$10–$46
Basis
20 eBay asks
Live eBay asks, Sep 15, 2026; sold prices usually close lower. How we price

Whitney Houston — Whitney: pressings we track

PressingCatalogCountryNotesAsking
1987 AristaAL-8405Canada—$15–$46
1987 Arista208 141Europe—$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141EuropeNo Bass Clef$10–$16
1987 Arista36 182-4GermanyClub Edition$10–$16
1987 Arista74014Greece—$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141Ireland—$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141Italy—$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141ItalyPromo$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141ItalyAstro Record Pressing$10–$16
1987 Arista208 141Portugal—$10–$16
1987 AristaAL-8405US—$15–$46
1987 AristaAL-8405USClub Edition, CRC$15–$46
4 more pressings we track (no quoted eBay range)
PressingCatalogCountryNotes
1987 Arista28RS-12Japan—
1987 AristaA27L-6Japan—
1987 Arista28RS-12JapanPromo
1987 AristaASTC 194South Africa—

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

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

What separates the pressings

Originals, 198710 first-year pressings (US, Europe, Canada, Greece and 5 more); any of them is an original. Runout on the US copy starts “AL-8405-SA-DMM1 3-3 Sterling”.
Collector variants1987 Italy: Promo. Short runs like these often bring more than a standard early copy.
JapanPressed to high standards and collected separately; a copy with the original obi strip is a different record to collectors than one without.

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 1987 US pressing it reads “AL-8405-SA-DMM1 3-3 Sterling” on side one and “13 AL-8405-SB DMM1 2-3 SPHRM Sterling” on side two. Jackets get swapped over the decades; the runout does not.

  3. 3

    Grade the condition. The same pressing can be worth several times more in near mint than in VG. Grade the vinyl and the sleeve separately — our grading guide shows the standard scale.

A 1987 jacket with a later disc inside is a reissue in an original sleeve. Judge the pressing by the runout etching and the label, never by the cover.

Questions

Which pressing of Whitney is worth the most?

The 1987 originals lead. Scarcer variants (the 1987 “Promo”) 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 if I have a 1987 original?

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 1987 US pressing the runout reads “AL-8405-SA-DMM1 3-3 Sterling”. A period jacket with a later disc inside is still a reissue.

How much is Whitney worth today?

Sellers typically ask $10 to $46 for the pressings we track; for the 1987 AL-8405 the median ask is $22 over 10 listings (eBay, Sep 15, 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.

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