The Rarest Spiritual Jazz Records

Twelve entries, the true story behind the biggest, and what a copy really sold for. Prices come from real sold listings, checked October 19, 2026. Each story has the exact track to press play on, and a way to hear it today without paying collector money.

How to read the prices

Every number here is one sale of one copy, taken from a public sold listing. It is not an average and not a price tag. Condition moves the price more than anything else: a tired copy and a clean copy of the same record can sell thousands apart.

The records here sold at auction on eBay, as archived by Popsike and ValueYourMusic, or are named in Discogs' own monthly sales report. These are examples, not a ranking of every sale ever made. Sun Ra's records fill so much of the top that he gets one entry, No. 1. Every other artist is ranked by the biggest verified sale. The good news: almost all of this music has been reissued, so you do not need the original to hear it.

No. 1. Sun Ra

Every Sun Ra sale we verified, biggest first:

• Jazz in Silhouette (Saturn): $6,697, Oct 29, 2023 (eBay via Popsike)
• The Nubians of Plutonia (El Saturn): $5,352, Jul 15, 2021 (eBay via Popsike)
• Super-Sonic Jazz (Saturn): $4,827, Oct 1, 2022 (eBay via Popsike)
• Angels and Demons at Play (Saturn): $4,824, Oct 5, 2019 (eBay via Popsike)
• When Angels Speak of Love (Saturn, 1966): $4,729, May 2026 (Discogs monthly report)
• Interstellar Low Ways (El Saturn): $4,649.99, Aug 7, 2019 (eBay via ValueYourMusic)
• Sleeping Beauty (El Saturn): $535, Jan 13, 2007 (eBay via Popsike)

Also from Sun Ra's band: Pat Patrick's Sound Advice (El Saturn) sold for $8,225 on Oct 12, 2020 (eBay via ValueYourMusic). It is a Pat Patrick record, so it is not counted in the Sun Ra list.

Jazz in Silhouette: $6,697

It was one of only three records the Arkestra put out in the 1950s, pressed on Sun Ra's own label. The first copies came in a simple silk-screened sleeve. The sci-fi cover most people know came a few years later. The Penguin Guide to Jazz put it in its "Core Collection" and called it a record that "will one day be recognised as one of the most important jazz records since the war."

The Nubians of Plutonia: $5,352

The first copies came in a blank sleeve under another title, The Lady with the Golden Stockings. The Nubians of Plutonia name and cover art came later. Like most Sun Ra records of the time, it was pressed in extremely small numbers and sold at concerts and by mail order.

Angels and Demons at Play: $4,824

Sun Ra designed the sleeve himself. It uses the same artwork on both sides, so there was no room for liner notes. The two sides come from different sessions: side two was cut around 1956, side one around 1960.

No. 2. Drum Dance to the Motherland: $4,152

The Khan Jamal Creative Arts Ensemble · Dogtown private press, recorded live in 1972, Philadelphia. Sold Jun 3, 2020 on eBay, 42 bids.

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal made it with a Philadelphia band that includes guitarist Monnette Sudler. It was recorded live in Philadelphia in October 1972 and issued later on the tiny Dogtown label, in an edition of about 300 copies. In 2016 the collector site Jazz Collector picked it as the cream of a run of free-jazz records selling near $1,000.

Related: Jamal founded the band Sounds of Liberation. Their 1972 LP New Horizons (Dogtown) shows a range of $499 to $7,777.77 across its last 30 Discogs sales, median $4,138, last sold Nov 8, 2022. That is a Discogs range, not one dated sale.

No. 3. Batsumi: $3,200

Batsumi · R&T, South Africa, 1974. Sold Aug 27, 2026 on eBay, 45 bids.

The 1974 debut from the South African band Batsumi: slinky repeating riffs with sax and flute on top. Critics put it next to the Strata-East and Black Jazz records. The Guardian described the reissue as "a vibrant, energetic workout." Soul Brother Records said it "remained a hidden gem for nearly 40 years."

No. 4. Spiritual Unity: $2,735

Albert Ayler Trio · ESP-Disk 1002, first pressing, 1965. Sold Nov 9, 2019 on eBay, 1 bid.

Recorded July 10, 1964 with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album ESP-Disk ever recorded. Label founder Bernard Stollman heard Ayler play a Harlem club, then asked him to be the first artist on his label and offered a $500 advance. This sale had one bid, so it was probably a fixed price and not an auction fight. Read the number as one price paid for one copy.

No. 5. Al-Fatihah: $2,325

Black Unity Trio · Salaam, original private pressing. Sold Dec 2, 2018 on eBay, 23 bids.

Recorded Dec 24, 1968 at Agency Recording Studio in Cleveland. Its 2020 reissue label says it is "quite possibly" the first independently released free-jazz record. The title is the Arabic name for the opening chapter of the Quran. The group was Abdul Wadud, Yusuf Mumin and Hasan Shahid.

No. 6 to No. 12. Seven more

• 6. Bobby Jackson, Desiree Song (Ninth Note, private press): $1,636, Nov 5, 2023 (eBay via Popsike)
• 7. Mike Selesia, Flavor (private press): $1,145, Aug 2, 2016 (eBay via Popsike)
• 8. Joe McPhee, Nation Time (CJR, 1971): $899, Sep 15, 2024 (eBay via Popsike)
• 9. Pharoah Sanders, Pharoah (India Navigation, 1977): $787, Sep 5, 2023 (eBay via Popsike)
• 10. Lloyd Miller, The Middle East (1966): $777, Dec 15, 2025 (eBay via Popsike)
• 11. Ndikho Xaba and The Natives (private press, 1971): $649, Feb 12, 2013 (eBay via Popsike)
• 12. Descendants of Mike and Phoebe, A Spirit Speaks (Strata-East): $392, Aug 6, 2023 (eBay via Popsike)

Joe McPhee's Nation Time also shows a high of $2,556 across its last 30 Discogs sales. Discogs shows ranges like this, not individual dated sales.

Sources. Facts about each record come from Wikipedia, the labels' own pages, and the reviews quoted. Sales: Popsike.com (eBay sold listings), ValueYourMusic.com, and Discogs. Discogs' monthly most-valuable-sales report. Discogs ranges are from public release pages, checked Oct 19, 2026. Prices are past sales, not current values or an offer to buy or sell. This guide has no affiliate links. Listen links go only to official artist or label pages.

Start from the beginning: 10 Spiritual Jazz Albums to Start With.