Reddit mentions of Kind of Blue [Vinyl]

A true original mono pressing of Kind of Blue will have this label. This is one of mine (I prefer the mono). Note that side 2 has the tracks listed in incorrect order ("All Blues" is the real first track on side 2, "Flamenco Sketches" second). It's estimated that the first 50,000 or so pressed were like this, but no one knows the actual number. A stereo original will look like this. They realized the label error and eventually corrected it, so however technical you want to get about what is "original" and what isn't is up to you. If it's a 6-eye label, it's usually considered an original pressing. However, in 1961 just before switching to the 2-eye label, Columbia started printing "CBS" at the top of their 6-eye labels, like example 3C, Bob Dylan, on this page from VinylBeat.com. A version like this would technically be a second pressing, though all but the most discerning collector would still accept this as an original, as it would have been pressed in a subsequent run. Kind of Blue, after all was/is the best-selling jazz album of all-time.

You can get an original pressing, but one in really awesome shape is going to cost you a premium. As common as this record is, condition drives the price of Kind of Blue as much as any other record you can think of, and even then, because of the wow factor of the original pressing, you will likely pay more than you probably should.

I own 4 copies of Kind of Blue. 2 original US pressing, the original Japanese pressing, and the Music on Vinyl limited edition on deep blue vinyl. If you are not interested in shelling out for a super clean original, I would suggest buying a repress. There are a couple that I would recommend.

The Music of Vinyl version includes a second LP of bonus tracks, and this pressing sounds really great. I think this is worth the price for sure. Not sure which version you'll get with this Amazon order, but if you're into the blue vinyl (it's very dark, almost looks purple), you could probably find one. Those are a limited, numbered edition of 3000.

The Classic Records 200g pressing is sure to be very nice, as well, but I don't own one. I have a few of their 200g jazz pressings, and they are always super – as close to the original as you'll get, down to the exactness of the original label. This would not come with any bonus material.

Both of these would be the new master of the recordings, taken from the back-up reels, and they would not be a quarter tone off. Actually, only the first side of the original pressing were recorded at this slower speed, as they were recorded in the first day, when the tape machine was recording slower, the second side, the 2nd after the machines had been serviced.