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· Conor Welsch
The seven-inch single has always been the heartbeat of pop music. Fast, direct, and built for the turntable, it was the format that carried songs into bedrooms, diners, and dance halls. Before albums became the standard, the 45 was how people connected with sound, one song at a time. And now, in 2025, the little record with the big hole is on every collectors shelves again.
There is something honest about the 45. Two songs, one per side, no filler, no hesitation. It captures the essence of what a band or artist can do in a few minutes. The single was never about perfection. It was about urgency, the kind of energy that made you drop the needle and let the moment play out loud.
For collectors, the 45 represents a different kind of hunt. Unlike albums, which tell full stories, singles are fragments, small chapters that live on their own. Each one holds a time, a mood, a piece of history. A first pressing of Love Me Do, a regional soul label release with a hand-stamped center, a punk single that came and went in one pressing of 300. The beauty of the 45 lies in its specificity.
Independent artists and small labels are bringing the 45 back. Short-run pressings, often sold at shows or bundled with zines, have become symbols of authenticity. In an age of endless playlists, the 45 asks for focus. You listen to one song, flip it, and listen again. It reminds you that music can still have edges, beginnings, and ends. Even Record Store Day releases have embraced the format, with exclusive singles that capture the spirit of discovery that the 45 was built on.
2025
One of the standout 7-inch singles of 2025 was Taylor Swift’s Fortnight 7-inch, released as part of Record Store Day. Pressed on colored vinyl, it paired the hit single with a remix and sold out almost immediately across participating shops. Collectors praised its packaging and scarcity, and it quickly became one of the most sought-after 7-inch releases of the year.
2024
The top-selling 7-inch single for Record Store Day was a two-song colored vinyl featuring Olivia Rodrigo’s cover of Noah Kahan’s Stick Season and Kahan’s cover of Rodrigo’s Lacy. Collectors praised it for its playful collaboration and the color variant pressing. Reports from Goldmine Magazine also highlighted rare and valuable 7-inch sales on eBay, including a soul record from blues group Dr. Spec’s Optical Illusion that drew high bids from dedicated collectors.
2023
Major labels leaned heavily on full-length albums, but the 7-inch remained a niche collector’s favorite. Artists like Lana Del Rey and Olivia Rodrigo continued to dominate vinyl sales overall, often with multiple limited variants. Even when singles were few, demand for short-run exclusives tied to Record Store Day kept the format alive.
2022
In the UK, the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen became the best-selling single again thanks to reissues celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Other top 7-inch releases included Harry Styles’ Late Night Talking and Lewis Capaldi’s Forget Me.
2021
The year marked the highest overall vinyl sales in three decades. While the spotlight leaned toward full-length albums from Adele, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift, 7-inch singles remained a playground for collectors. Most popular pressings came from independent labels and Record Store Day exclusives.
2020
Liam Gallagher’s All You’re Dreaming Of was the top-selling vinyl single in the UK. The Rolling Stones’ Living in a Ghost Town appeared on limited orange vinyl, showing that even legacy acts were embracing collectible short runs. Reissued classics also found new life, from Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart to Billie Eilish’s No Time to Die.
Across all these years, one truth stands out: the 45 never truly left. It simply waited for people to slow down enough to notice its power again.
Condition matters, but so does character. A little ring wear, a faded label, a soft sleeve. These are the signs of life that make collecting 45s so rewarding. Storage is simple but sacred. Keep them upright, sleeve them in poly, and never stack them flat. Each one may be small, but together they tell a story that feels infinite.
If you have not dropped a 45 on your turntable in a while, pull one out. Listen to the way the song bursts into motion, how the silence between sides feels like a breath before the next thought. The 45 is not nostalgia. It is the sound of presence. A reminder that sometimes the shortest songs leave the longest echoes.