The Joy of 45 Collecting: Eye-Catching 45 Record Labels

If you're like me, you'll get a kick out of scrolling down this page to see all of the rare and interesting record labels that were used to release 45 rpm records in the 1950s-80s. Some of these appeared only on 45 rpm records, because many small labels were focused on the 45 and on recording that elusive "hit". Their artist rosters were typically tiny, and most of the artists they signed had contracts specifying release of singles but not LPs. Compared with 45 labels, LP labels are plain, with very little design interest. For example, here's what the Bang label looks like on an LP (in this case, "Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits"), a typical case, followed by the same size representation for the 45 label:

To see the full-size corresponding 45 Bang label, scroll down the page a bit, and I think you'll see why 45 labels have so much more design appeal for those of us susceptible to interesting design.

I've tried to include here labels that have some artistic merit, but there are some "plain" labels that are so rare it's a kick just to see one of their releases. Some of these also appear in the gallery of promo 45s, because I may not have had access to the companies' retail releases, and the promo version is the only label representative I have. The page also shows some big-label art, because even though their labels also graced LPs, the ones shown here do have some artistic or eye-candy merit. I've tried not to repeat any label designs, but there may be one or two that appear more than once. Also, you'll see a handful of labels inside their factory sleeves, because in this case it's the only image of that particular label design that I have. If the only design I have is of the promo release, I'll show that here and in the promos labels list; once a stock label comes our way, we'll replace the promo version here with the stock version.

Note: The labels are shown in roughly alphabetical order by label name. With our latest updates, the list is well over 2,000, so I'm splitting the list into three parts for compatibility with more browsers: An A-E list, an F-O list, and a P-Z. Hope that will suffice for the long run. :-) Last Updated 03/16/22, these pages show 2,702 labels in all.