RankingItalo disco 12"
The 10 Italo disco records to own on vinyl
Ten Italo disco 12-inches, three budgets: from the ten-euro record to the grail, with original, reissue and traps.
- Criterion
- Discogs wantlist
- Source
- Discogs · 10 Italian pressings
- Read on
Positions
Seven of the ten originals on this list cost under €40. The other three, Flagio, Charlie and Casco, start at a €70 median and climb to €120. The whole craft of collecting Italo disco on vinyl is in that gap: knowing which three they are, and recognising the original when the price won't protect you.
These are twelve-inches, not LPs, because that's the format the genre was born and sold in; the albums are mostly afterthoughts or compilations. The order measures desire (the Discogs users who have the Italian original on their wantlist), not quality, which is why Kano and Gazebo, cheap and easy to find, close the line. Every title has its card in The Beautiful Fake; here you get only what you need at the record-shop counter, between original and reissue, with prices read on 6 November 2026.
Before you spend: the ladder and where to start
These are twelve-inches: Italo was born on them. The buying ladder, cheapest to grail (Discogs medians, 6 November 2026): Ryan Paris €10, Gazebo €12, Kano €14.50, Savage €19.95, Dirty Talk €22.97, My Mine €29.53, Robotnick €35.11, Flagio €70, Charlie €102.50, Casco €120. Start with Dolce Vita. To spot an original you need the SIAE stamp and an etched matrix that matches the catalogue number; the SIAE alone isn't enough.
Method
Three things before you read on. The order is the Discogs wantlist for the chosen Italian pressing, not a ranking of merit. Prices are medians of actual sales, not asking prices. And the ten titles are our selection, not a census. Same idea, different genre: The 10 most-wanted Blue Note originals.
- Criterion
- Discogs users with the chosen Italian original pressing of each title in their wantlist
- Source
- Discogs: the 10 Italian original pressings and the reissues cited, read on 6 November 2026; the ten titles are picked from the 50 twelve-inches of The Beautiful Fake
- Read on
Limits
- One release per title, the most wanted. Discogs splits wants between variants of the same record: if we added the two Mr. Flagio releases together (3,568 + 1,098), it would overtake Charlie. Under the rule we also use for the Blue Notes, Charlie stays first.
- For Kano we count the Italian edition (Baby BR 54002). The US one, Emergency EMDS 6504, has 3,330 wants and a €10.67 median: if it counted, Kano would move up to third. For Robotnick we count the variant with the publisher on the label; the other (807 wants) has its own numbers and doesn't change the order.
- The selection: ten of the book's fifty twelve-inches, chosen for historical weight, quality, availability, and because a reissue exists that can be told apart from the original. An order by wantlist doesn't say which records are best.
- Prices: medians, lows and highs of actual Discogs sales, in euros, read on 6 November 2026. They move and aren't guaranteed; where the last sale is far back (Casco, 11 August) they go stale sooner.
- Reissues: Discogs states the licence only in some cases. Where it doesn't, we don't write it.
-
#1 · Charlie
Spacer Woman
4,061 in wantlist · want/have 5.13 Hard to find
No other record on this list is wanted by so many people: 4,061 collectors, against 791 who own a copy. G. Stefani and Maurice Cavalieri wrote it; Cavalieri produced and arranged it. The price gap is the point. The original has a median of €102.50, while the 2014 Dark Entries (remastered in Berkeley, licence stated on the insert postcard) sits at €23.42. If you collect music rather than grooves, the choice is made.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
Matrix MDO· 58507 · A / MDO · 58507 · B
«Disco Mix 12'» label, 33⅓ rpm. The running times printed on the label (6:00) are wrong: that's an error of the original, not a sign of a fake, and later copies repeat it.
- Median
- €102.50
- High
- €150.00
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Dark Entries Editions n. 6 · DE-077
- Year
- 2014 · 45 rpm
- Mastering
- Fantasy Studios, Berkeley (remastered)
- Barcode
- 730669337468
- Median
- €23.42 · last sale 2026-10-30
Licence stated (Antibemusic SRL). The barcode is on a shrink-wrap sticker only.
-
#2 · Mr. Flagio
Take A Chance
3,568 in wantlist · want/have 4.69
FACT put it first in its 20 best Italo records back in 2009. It was made at Studio G in Genoa, remixed by De Scalzi, Vidulich and Bacco, and the Discogs notes point out it's a cover of «Take A Chance», written and performed by Material in 1982. The original's median is €70. The licensed reissue dates from 2015 and was limited to 300 copies: grab it if you see it. The Discoring from 2019 is the one that actually turns up.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
Matrix BTV 10001 A / BTV 10001 B (preceded by a symbol)
Two legitimate variants share the catalogue number: credits on the back only (this one, r33615) or on front and back (r8219382: 1,098 wants, median €45.00).
- Median
- €70.00
- High
- €151.23
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Fonogrammi Particolari · FNGRM 001
- Year
- 2015 · 33⅓ rpm
- Median
- €34.50 · last sale 2023-10-07
Licensed (from Flavio Vidulich), limited to 300 copies, 150 black and 150 coloured. Last Discogs sale: 7 October 2023. Easier alternative: Discoring DR 002 (2019), last sale 11 October 2026, though Discogs doesn't say whether it is licensed.
-
#3 · Alexander Robotnick
Problèmes D'Amour
2,733 in wantlist · want/have 3.49
Maurizio Dami of Florence wrote it, and the CTM Festival counts it among the most influential dance records. After the first pressing came a second one in 1984 and reissues in 1986 and 1997, so what matters is the object: the oversized centre label, 14.6 cm. Two states share the catalogue number. The one with the publisher printed on the label is the most wanted (2,733 wants, median €35.11); the one without has 100 copies on record, 807 wants and a median of €25.18.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
Matrix M ZZ 20003 A / M ZZ 20003 B
The label reads «© 1983 Materiali Sonori». The variant without the publisher printed (r7640735) is a separate Discogs release with its own numbers.
- Median
- €35.11
- High
- €99.99
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Spittle Records · SPITTLE112
- Year
- 2021 · 33⅓ rpm
- Barcode
- 8056099004827
- Median
- €21.01 · last sale 2026-10-14
Reproduces the oversized label. Copyright © Materiali Sonori on the record.
-
#4 · Casco
Cybernetic Love
2,380 in wantlist · want/have 5.63 Hard to find
Recorded at Studio G in Genoa, produced by Carlo Favilli and Stefano Zito, arranged and mixed by the De Scalzi brothers with Salvatore Cusato. Casco was him, as the dedication on the 2014 reissue says. FACT ranked it fourth in 2009. Today the original's median, €120, is the highest on the list. There are three reissues: Radius Rad 008 (Belgium, 2006), Archivio Fonografico Moderno ARFON 08 (2014) and House Of Music HM 1004/R from 2020, the original's own label, at €19.99.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
- SIAE stamp on side A
- Made in Italy on the label
- MATRIX «HM · 1004 · 1 / 2», by hand
Matrix HM · 1004 · 1 / HM · 1004 · 2
Blue company sleeve «Il Discotto»; distributed by Discotto, Sesto San Giovanni.
- Median
- €120.00
- High
- €222.50
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
House Of Music · HM 1004/R
- Year
- 2020 · 33⅓ rpm
- Median
- €19.99 · last sale 2026-11-04
No barcode listed on Discogs; the dead wax reads «HM 1004/R».
-
#5 · My Mine
Hypnotic Tango
2,119 in wantlist · want/have 2.34
A 45 rpm twelve-inch pressed by CGD, with the lacquer-cut date, 21 April 1983, etched on both sides: an original that signs itself. It costs more than its neighbours (median €29.53, 2,119 wants against 904 copies). The 2018 Dark Entries is remastered by George Horn and comes with an 8×11 inch insert of photos and liner notes: €18.01 median, last sold on 6 November 2026.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
- SIAE stamp on side A
- Made in Italy on the label
- CGD logo, DD and date 21-4-83
Matrix 32 CIV 47501-1L [logo CGD] DD 21-4-83 / 32 CIV 47501-2L [logo CGD] DD 21-4-83
Printed and distributed by CGD Messaggerie Musicali. Some copies carry a sticker on the sleeve: «sigla della trasmissione tv Hit Parade» (theme of the TV show Hit Parade).
- Median
- €29.53
- High
- €57.80
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Dark Entries Editions n. 33 · DE-238
- Year
- 2018 · 45 rpm
- Mastering
- George Horn (remastered)
- Barcode
- 794811514848
- Median
- €18.01 · last sale 2026-11-06
With an 8×11 inch insert (photos and notes).
-
#6 · Klein + M.B.O.
Dirty Talk
1,343 in wantlist · want/have 2.67
It's a mini-album rather than a maxi-single, and the sleeve says so: «Mini LP – Special price – L. 8000, compresa IVA». The uncredited vocalist is Rossana Casale, and Rockit remembers it for the Timbaland sample in «Bounce». Groov-illa already has a review of Dirty Talk that reads the printed marks one by one. What matters here is the price: the 2024 Discoring has a median of €17.76, the original €22.97. Five euros apart: buy the original.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
- SIAE listed on the release page
- Made in Italy on the label
Matrix ZR0107/1 / ZR0107/2 (labels); A / B (dead wax)
Distributed by Gong, Milan. Price in lire on the sleeve (L. 8000, IVA included).
- Median
- €22.97
- High
- €40.00
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Discoring Records · DR-014
- Year
- 2024 · 45 rpm
- Median
- €17.76 · last sale 2026-10-19
White vinyl. Discogs lists it as a remastered reissue; it doesn't say whether it is licensed.
-
#7 · Savage
Don't Cry Tonight
1,128 in wantlist · want/have 1.54
Roberto Zanetti, credited as Robyx, wrote the words and music, produced, arranged and played Simmons drums, Jupiter 8, Emulator and Poly-61: the back sleeve lists them all. TV80s includes it in its 30 best Italo tracks. The original has a median of €19.95; the 2024 ZYX, on green and black splatter vinyl, €17.99. With two euros between them, buy the original first and, if you want a copy to play, the reissue after.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
Matrix MIX 133 · A / MIX 133 · B
Printed by Graphyche Magica 2000, Milan; distributed by Disco Magic. The catalogue number is repeated on the label, the back and the spine.
- Median
- €19.95
- High
- €50.00
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
ZYX Music · MAXI 1146-12
- Year
- 2024 · 33⅓ rpm
- Barcode
- 194111032705
- Median
- €17.99 · last sale 2026-10-28
Green and black splatter vinyl.
-
#8 · Ryan Paris
Dolce Vita
829 in wantlist · want/have 1.00
The one to start with: 825 copies on record and 829 wants, supply and demand almost level, median €10. Giombini arranged it and John Bini produced it. Magnetic Mag ranked it first among its ten greatest Italo disco tracks, in 2019. There's a 2023 ZYX reissue for the 40th anniversary, median €17.80: it costs more than the original, so it makes no sense to buy it instead.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
Matrix MIX 117 A / MIX 117 B (label); MIX 117 1 / MIX 117 2 (dead wax, variant 1)
The Disco Magic «Wizard» logo is on the sleeve. Side B's label shows a wrong running time, 7:55.
- Median
- €10.00
- High
- €30.39
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
ZYX Music · MAXI 1102-12 (40th Anniversary)
- Year
- 2023 · 33⅓ rpm
- Barcode
- 194111021761
- Median
- €17.80 · last sale 2026-09-27
Green and white marbled vinyl, limited edition.
-
#9 · Kano
I'm Ready / Holly Dolly
729 in wantlist · want/have 4.99
Ninzatti, Bonsanto and Pulga wrote it, Luigi Figini produced it, and Rockit remembers it in the US black singles chart of 1980. The Italian copy on Baby Records carries the © and ℗ of Emergency Records & Filmworks. It has 146 copies on record against 729 wants, the most lopsided ratio among the cheap records, yet the median is €14.50: few copies, but nobody charges too much for them.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
- SIAE listed on the release page
- Made in Italy in the release notes
- MATRIX «BR MIX 54002 A / B»
Matrix BRMIX 54002 A / BR MIX 54002 B
There is also the US edition, Emergency EMDS 6504 (r53639, made in New York): 3,330 wants, median €10.67. This card follows the Italian edition.
- Median
- €14.50
- High
- €24.96
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Best Record · BST-X073
- Year
- 2020 · 45 rpm
- Median
- €15.49 · last sale 2026-07-17
Licence stated (Luigi Figini / Nuova Fresca Srl). It costs the same as the original: €15.49 median.
-
#10 · Gazebo
I Like Chopin
378 in wantlist · want/have 0.53
The only one of the ten with more copies on record than wants: 710 against 378. Gazebo is Paul Mazzolini and he really sings: in the book he is the counter-example to the borrowed-voice singers, the Den Harrow type. Giombini produced and arranged it and shares the writing credit. Discogs lists no modern reissue of this 12": the others are remixes (Rmx 92, '98) or the 1991 Lunatic, with a median of €33.39, nearly three times the original.
The original
The most-wanted period pressing
- SIAE boxed on the label
- Made in Italy on the label
- MATRIX «BR-54024-A BIS», etched
Matrix BR-54024-A BIS / BR-54024-B
Distributed by Discotto; printed by Graphyche Magica 2000. Label code 4554.
- Median
- €12.00
- High
- €31.04
- Last sale
The reissue to buy
Nessuna ristampa moderna di questo 12"
Buy the original: Discogs lists no modern reissue of the same mix.
How to spot an original
On Italo disco the marks are few and none is enough on its own: Italian reissues carry the SIAE and sometimes the original's catalogue number. What counts is the combination of label, matrix in the dead wax and sleeve.
A On the label
- SIAE The SIAE stamp
- The Italian authors' and publishers' society mark on the label, usually on side A. Discogs lists it as a stamp on the originals of Charlie, Casco, My Mine and Savage. It proves nothing on its own: Italian reissues carry it too (Casco 2014 and 2020, Kano Best Record 2020). It works mostly in reverse: on Charlie, copies without the SIAE on side A are the ones to discard.
- Made in Italy «Made in Italy»
- The wording on the label (Casco, My Mine, Dirty Talk, Gazebo; Kano in the release notes). It helps against foreign pressings with the same catalogue number: Gazebo's Swiss one says «Swiss Made», Dirty Talk's Belgian one «Made in Belgium».
- Ø 146 mm Oversized centre label
- On Robotnick originals the label measures 14.6 cm; the 1997 reissue has a normal-sized label. But the 2021 Spittle reproduces it: today the mark has to be read together with the barcode, which originals don't have.
B In the dead wax
- MATRIX Hand-etched matrix
- Catalogue number and side scratched with a stylus in the dead wax, often with dot separators: «HM · 1004 · 1» (Casco), «MIX 133 · A» (Savage), «MDO· 58507 · A» (Charlie). An etched number that matches the label is the most solid check. Reissues change it: Casco 2020 reads «HM 1004/R A».
- CGD Plant logo and date
- On My Mine the dead wax carries the CGD logo, the initials DD and the lacquer-cut date, 21-4-83. Of the ten on this list, it is the only one that dates itself.
C On the sleeve
- L. 8000 Price in lire
- Dirty Talk prints «Mini LP – Special price – L. 8000, compresa IVA» on the sleeve. A price in lire places the record in the period Italian market; on its own it doesn't tell you if it is the first pressing.
- Busta Sleeve and distributor
- Casco came in the blue company sleeve «Il Discotto»; on the back of Savage, Ryan Paris and Gazebo the distributor and printer are printed (Disco Magic, Discotto, Graphyche Magica 2000).
- Varianti Legitimate variants
- Not every difference points to a reissue. Mr. Flagio has two 1983 versions with the same catalogue number: credits on the back only, or on front and back. Robotnick has two, with and without the publisher on the label.
- Barcode The barcode
- None of the ten original release pages lists one. Modern reissues do: Dark Entries (sometimes only on a shrink-wrap sticker), ZYX, Spittle.
Traps
- Spacer Woman — Since 2005 two copies without the SIAE stamp on side A have been around: a 33 rpm reissue and an unofficial 45 rpm reissue with «CHARLIE-01» etched in the dead wax. If the stamp is missing, stop.
- Take A Chance — The 2014 transparent blue vinyl, at 45 rpm, carries the same BTV10 001 catalogue number on a «Squish (2)» label and is flagged «Unofficial Release» on Discogs. The matching number fools you; the speed and the colour don't.
- Problèmes D'Amour — In 2021 Spittle remade the record with the oversized label, so that mark alone no longer proves anything: check the barcode. And there's the 2002 Benelux unofficial copy (Benelux 210 003).
- Cybernetic Love — Both Italian reissues, 2014 and 2020, carry the SIAE too. The dead wax tells them apart: the original has «HM · 1004 · 1» and «· 2» etched by hand, the 2020 reissue «HM 1004/R».
- Dirty Talk — The Belgian edition on Baby Records (BRD 1250004, «Made in Belgium», SABAM) has the same title and a similar median, €20.52. And Tirk's «Dirty Talk Remixes» (2015) is not a reissue.
- Don't Cry Tonight — The MIX 133 number also appears on a 2017 Spanish picture disc (Blanco y Negro): the catalogue number alone identifies nothing. You need the Discomagic label and the hand-etched matrix.
- Dolce Vita — The MIX 117 number also lives on a 2017 Spanish picture disc (Blanco y Negro) and on a white-label Discomagic promo: a white label is not a commercial pressing.
- I'm Ready / Holly Dolly — Two records with identical title and year: the US Emergency (EMDS 6504) and the Italian Baby (BR 54002). Check the country on the label and the «BR MIX 54002» dead wax. There's also a release bearing the same BR 54002 under the Full Time Records name (r34541137): one owner, sold for €40 on 1 November 2026.
- I Like Chopin — The Swiss pressing (Baby Records, same BR 54024 catalogue number, «Swiss Made», SUISA) has a median of €7.54: same number, other country, other record.
If you start from compilations
Not everyone begins with a twelve-inch. Two compilations, outside the ranking and unnumbered: neither is a title on the list.
- ZYX, The Italo Disco Collection (ZYXBOX089, September 2023): a 4-LP box, 31 tracks. Savage, Ryan Paris and Gazebo are in it, but we haven't compared the included versions with the original 12-inches. Kano appears with «Another Life», not «I'm Ready».
- Strut, Disco Italia (Essential Italo Disco Classics 1977-1985), compiled by Steve «Fela» Kotey of Chicken Lips: 13 tracks, including Kano «Now Baby Now», DD Sound «Burning Love» and Easy Going «Do It Again». Check that the vinyl edition is the one you want before you buy.
To know what you're listening to, every record on the list has its own card in The Beautiful Fake.
Sources
- Discogs, release and master pages: read on 6 November 2026 (wants, copies owned, median, low, high and last sale; notes, credits, matrices, barcodes).
- Discogs, version lists of the Dirty Talk, Dolce Vita and I Like Chopin masters: read on 6 November 2026.
- Sergio Sueri, The Beautiful Fake (Groovilla Books): cards 1, 2, 3, 14, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27 and 32.
- FACT, «20 best: Italo records ever made» (24 February 2009).
- Rockit, «Retroterra: storia dell'Italo Disco» (2012).
- CTM Festival, 2013-2020 archive: Alexander Robotnick page.
- Magnetic Mag, «Ten Greatest Italo Disco Tracks» (2019); TV80s, «Italo Disco: The 30 Best».
Italo disco on vinyl: 12-inch or LP?
The 12-inch. It's the format the genre came out and sold in; LPs are scarce, often a single's afterthought or a compilation. Dirty Talk, a 33 rpm mini-album on Discogs, makes the list because it's a twelve-inch.
Which Italo disco record should I start with on a €15 budget?
Dolce Vita by Ryan Paris (median €10), I Like Chopin by Gazebo (€12) or I'm Ready by Kano (€14.50): Discogs sales medians on 6 November 2026. For all three the original costs the same as the reissue or less.
Does a SIAE stamp prove a record is an original?
No. Italian reissues carry it too, like the 2014 and 2020 Casco or the 2020 Best Record Kano. Look at the matrix etched in the dead wax: it has to match the label's catalogue number. On modern pressings there's also a barcode, which originals don't have.
How much do the priciest originals on the list cost?
Medians of actual Discogs sales: Casco €120, Charlie €102.50, Flagio €70; the highs are €222.50, €150 and €151.23. The modern reissues of Charlie and Casco sit around €23 and €20.
Are Italo disco reissues worth buying?
It depends on what they declare. Dark Entries states on Charlie's insert postcard that the master is licensed and remastered. The trouble is unlicensed copies, flagged «Unofficial Release» on Discogs: the 2014 blue Flagio, the 2002 Benelux Robotnick.
Where can I find Italian originals?
On Discogs and eBay worldwide. In Milan, Metropolis Dischi at via Carlo Esterle 29 is recommended for original Italo disco: it's in our Milan page. Check opening hours and stock before you go.
