Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Vinyl Reissues of 2020

BY Exclaim! StaffPublished Dec 16, 2020

With the holiday season quickly approaching, here are some present ideas for the record collector in your life. These vinyl reissues have breathed new life into vintage albums from the likes of PJ Harvey, Mary J. Blige, Green Day and Four Tet.

Mirah
You Think It's Like This, But It's Really Like This 20th anniversary edition

Mirah's 2000 debut was a low-key masterpiece. This new 20th anniversary reissue pairs a remastered version of the original record with a new tribute album featuring covers by Mount Eerie, Half Waif, Sad13 and many more.

You Say Party
XXXX 10th anniversary edition

The death of drummer Devon Clifford gives added weight to You Say Party's third record, which married their party-starting ways with darker undercurrents. Paper Bag Records celebrates its 10th anniversary with a limited edition pressing on clear vinyl.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Transmissions: The Music of Beverly-Glenn Copeland

After toiling in relative obscurity for decades, this Canadian actor and musician's work is finally receiving the plaudits it deserves. Transmissions, the latest in an ongoing reissue campaign, offers an overview of Copeland's career from aspiring folk singer to groundbreaking new age artist.

Sleep
Dopesmoker

A landmark in stoner metal, Sleep's Dopesmoker is as hypnotic as it is heavy. This double-LP picture disc from the folks at Southern Lord spreads the epic title track across three sides of vinyl, with live versions of "Sonic Titan" and "Holy Mountain" rounding out side D.

John Prine
Prime Prine: The Best Of

John Prine's catalogue was already undergoing a reissue campaign when he passed away from coronavirus complications earlier this year. For those unfamiliar with the legendary folk artist, this 1976 compilation collecting tracks from his first four albums is a great place to start.

PJ Harvey
Dry and To Bring You My Love demo collections

PJ Harvey kicked off a new reissue campaign with the first pressing of her debut album, Dry, in two decades, as well as new editions of Rid of Me and To Bring You My Love and a collaborative album with John Parish. But the new standalone demo collections to accompany Dry and To Bring You My Love are the real coup for fans.

Four Tet
There Is Love in You 10th anniversary edition

Kieran Hebden has maintained a long and prolific career through constant reinvention. By all accounts 2010's There Is Love in You might have been his greatest sonic remodelling. This new triple-LP 10th anniversary edition adds a bonus disc of remixes including reworkings from Joy Orbison, Floating Points and Caribou.

Green Day
Insomniac 25th anniversary edition

Green Day answered the blockbuster success of Dookie with Insomniac, a faster, harder and bleaker record than its multi-platinum predecessor. For its 25th anniversary, the Bay Area trio are rolling out newly remastered double-LP version on orange vinyl with a "prismatic silver foil" cover and live tracks from their March 1996 stop in Prague.

Mary J. Blige
My Life 25th anniversary edition

Though her debut produced a number of hits, Mary J. Blige's introspective second album, My Life, is where she really came into her own as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the new triple-LP edition adds a disc of bonus material, including remixes with LL Cool J and Smif-N-Wessun and her cover of Aretha's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

The Cranberries
No Need to Argue deluxe reissue

These Irish alt-rockers took a relatively heavier turn for their second album, both sonically and lyrically, turning "Zombie," a protest song about an IRA bombing, into a global hit in the process. This new double-LP deluxe edition adds three B-sides to the original running order while the CD edition adds 19 more assorted rarities.

Royal Canoe
Glacial / RC3PO

Nearly two years after last album WAVER, the Winnipeg alt-pop crew have been continuing their ceaseless sonic innovations. This blue vinyl collects two of their recent EPs: Glacial, featuring live versions of Royal Canoe tracks performed on handcrafted ice instruments, and RC3PO, a collaboration with local hip-hop trio 3PEAT.

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