All the records in the following on-line listing are arranged alphabetically by artist. So if you're looking for records by Roy Orbison, click on O. If you are looking for records by Harper's Bizzarre, click on H. If you don't know the artist of a song, use our "Search Our Site" button to the left.

More than 1500 additional popular titles were added to our inventory in September 2010. See individual catalog listings below.

Other 45 RPM records not listed? Our on-line listings above are updated regularly and provide a complete listing of every record that we inventory and current pricing. No additional unlisted artists or titles are available. 

Download our free 45 RPM catalog (also includes all our CDs too!) to the hard disk on your computer. Once received, just double click on the downloaded file (co_cat.exe) to place all the 4 *.doc files on your computer. These files can be opened and printed using your computer using Microsoft Word '97 or any newer version.

Note that the 45 RPM "download" catalog was compiled 2009 03 13 -  and was completely redone to include every 45 RPM we stock and sell. 

Click here for the ZIP download (instead of the *.exe version)

Now sold out and out of print. We will not be printing any more 45 RPM catalogs in the future. To obtain a free catalog of the 10,000 different 45 RPM RPM records we currently sell download a free copy of the file and print it on your computer printer. 

Printed - Top 200 Hits Booklet 1956 - 1986

The Top 200 hits is a simple listing of the 200 most favourite single records purchased in the USA each year from 1956 through 1986 - listed in order from the number one record of the year through the number 200 - 9600 records in total. This booklet will allow you to sort out which records were the most popular, who sang the songs and in what year - all at a bargain price - only US$15 postpaid to the USA (CDN$15.00 postpaid to Canada) Complete details & ordering information

Ordering records for your juke box? We can prepare professionally made title strips for you (or sell you blank ones). Complete details & ordering information
 

Need new "sleeves" for your 45 RPM records? We stock them! Complete details & ordering information.
 

The worst album covers you could ever imagine.  Complete details

RCA 45 RPM Player (about 1950)

The 45 RPM record was developed by RCA Victor company in 1949 - immediately following the invention of "vinyl" plastic and the development of the 12" LP record by CBS engineers (in 1948). The 45 RPM speed was the only one to be decided by a precise optimization procedure. Calculus was used to show that the optimum use of a disc record of constant rotational speed occurs when the innermost recorded diameter is half the outermost recorded diameter. That's why a 7-inch single has a label 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Given the CBS LP vinyl groove dimensions and certain assumptions about the bandwidth and tolerable distortion, a speed of 45 rpm comes out of the
formula. (Peter Copeland, British Library National Sound Archive, London).

To market their format against the currently "reigning" 78 RPM (and the CBS 12" LP) RCA released a series very low priced 45 RPM only players in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Both amplified & non amplified models were manufactured. The player above was sold in the early 1950s and was equipped with a ceramic cartridge and an "RCA" jack - also "invented" at the time! The model above did not include an amplifier or speaker but was meant to plugged into the corresponding female RCA jack in an RCA radio or TV - and use that product's amplifier and speaker. If you're aged 50 or older, you may remember quite a number of these players by 1955 - sitting atop TV sets!

In spite of the popularity of LPs, the sales of 45 RPM records continued to increase all through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In their "peak" sales years from 1973 to 1976 more than 100 million were sold each year in the USA.

All 45s made since 1971 have been pressed in stereo and have the same fidelity output as CDs - i.e., 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz - a credit to the RCA engineers more than 50 years ago!

Record companies made 45s of popular current hits through the 1990s and into the 2000s. By the late 1990s about 30,000 copies of each 45 were made. In the 2000s all production stopped due to a lack of demand. These 45s from the 1990s and 2000s are already rare and very valuable.

In the last few years many "oldie" 45s "reissues" have been discontinued by the record manufacturers because of declining sales. In 1991 more than 6,000 were available. In 2011 - less than 2000.

Neil Patte, 2011

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