National Recording Registry

Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech was one of 50 recordings preserved in 2002, the first year of existence of the United States National Recording Registry.

The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording Preservation Board, whose members are appointed by the Librarian of Congress. The recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry form a registry of recordings selected yearly by the National Recording Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress.

The National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 established a national program to guard America's sound recording heritage. The Act created the National Recording Registry, The National Recording Preservation Board and a fund-raising foundation. The purpose of the Registry is to maintain and preserve sound recordings and collections of sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Beginning in 2002, the National Recording Preservation Board has selected recordings nominated each year to be preserved.

The first four yearly lists each had 50 selections. Since 2006, 25 recordings have been selected annually. As of 2020, a total of 550 recordings have been preserved in the Registry. Each calendar year, public nominations are accepted for inclusion in that year's list of selections, which are announced the following spring.

Each yearly list typically includes a few recordings that have also been selected for inclusion in the holdings of the National Archives' audiovisual collection. Recordings on the National Recording Registry that are of a political nature tend to overlap with the audiovisual collection of the National Archives. The list shows overlapping items and whether the National Archives has an original or a copy of the recording.

Selection criteria

The criteria for selection are:

• Recordings selected for the National Recording Registry are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and/or inform or reflect culture in the United States.
• Recordings will not be considered for inclusion in the National Recording Registry if no copy of the recording exists.
• No recording is eligible for inclusion in the National Recording Registry until ten years after the recording's creation.

Inductees

Recording or collection	Performer or agent	Release year	Induction year	National Archives
Edison exhibition recordings (Group of three cylinders): "Around the World on the Phonograph" "The Pattison Waltz" "Fifth Regiment March"	Thomas Edison	1888–1889	2002
Passamaquoddy Indians field recordings	Recorded by Jesse Walter Fewkes	1890	2002
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" Berliner Gramophone disc recording (Listen)	Military Band	1897	2002
Metropolitan Opera cylinder recordings (the Mapleson Cylinders)	Lionel Mapleson and the Metropolitan Opera	1900–1903	2002
Ragtime compositions piano rolls	Scott Joplin	1900s	2002
1895 Atlanta Exposition speech	Booker T. Washington	1906 recreation	2002	copy
"Casey at the Bat"	DeWolf Hopper	1906	2002
"Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci	Enrico Caruso	1907	2002
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"	Fisk Jubilee Singers	1909	2002
Lovey's Trinidad String Band recordings for Columbia Records	Lovey's Trinidad String Band	1912	2002
"Tiger Rag"	Original Dixieland Jazz Band	1918	2002
"Arkansas Traveler" and "Sallie Gooden"	Eck Robertson	1922	2002
"Downhearted Blues"	Bessie Smith	1923	2002
Rhapsody in Blue	George Gershwin, piano; Paul Whiteman Orchestra	1924	2002
Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings	Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven	1925–1928	2002
Victor Talking Machine Company sessions in Bristol, Tennessee	Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Stoneman, and others	1927	2002
Highlander Center Field Recordings Collection	Rosa Parks, Esau Jenkins and others	1930s–1980s	2002
Bell Laboratories experimental stereo recordings	Philadelphia Orchestra; Leopold Stokowski, conductor	1931–1932	2002
"Fireside chats" radio broadcasts	Franklin D. Roosevelt	1933–1944	2002	original
Harvard Vocarium record series	T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden and others	1933–1956	2002
"New Music Quarterly" recordings series	Henry Cowell, producer	1934–1949	2002
Description of the crash of the Hindenburg	Herbert Morrison	May 6, 1937	2002	original
The Cradle Will Rock (Marc Blitzstein)	Original cast	1938	2002
"Who's on First?" Earliest existing radio broadcast version	Abbott and Costello	October 6, 1938	2002
The War of the Worlds	Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre on the Air	October 30, 1938	2002	copy
"God Bless America" Radio broadcast premiere	Kate Smith	November 11, 1938	2002
The John and Ruby Lomax Southern States Recording Trip	John and Ruby Lomax	1939	2002
"Strange Fruit"	Billie Holiday	1939	2002
Grand Ole Opry First network radio broadcast	Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff, and others	October 14, 1939	2002
Béla Bartók and Joseph Szigeti in Concert at the Library of Congress	Béla Bartók, piano; Joseph Szigeti, violin	1940	2002
The Rite of Spring	Igor Stravinsky conducting the New York Philharmonic	1940	2002
Blanton-Webster era recordings	Duke Ellington Orchestra	1940–1942	2002
"White Christmas" original 1942 single	Bing Crosby	1942	2002
"This Land Is Your Land"	Woody Guthrie	1944	2002
D-Day radio address to the Allied Nations	Dwight D. Eisenhower	June 6, 1944	2002	original
"Ko Ko"	Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and others	1945	2002
"Blue Moon of Kentucky"	Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys	1947	2002
"How High the Moon"	Les Paul and Mary Ford	1951	2002
Songs for Young Lovers	Frank Sinatra	1954	2002
Sun Records sessions	Elvis Presley	1954–1955	2002
Dance Mania	Tito Puente	1958	2002
Kind of Blue	Miles Davis	1959	2002
"What'd I Say", Parts 1 and 2	Ray Charles	1959	2002
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan	Bob Dylan	1963	2002
"I Have a Dream" speech	Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.	August 28, 1963	2002	copy
"Respect"	Aretha Franklin	1967	2002
Philomel: For Soprano (Milton Babbitt)	Bethany Beardslee, recorded soprano, and synthesized sound	1971	2002
Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey	Thomas A. Dorsey, Marion Williams, and others	1973	2002
Crescent City Living Legends Collection (New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Archive/WWOZ New Orleans)		1973–1990	2002
"The Message"	Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five	1982	2002
"The Lord's Prayer" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"	Emile Berliner	c. 1890	2003
"Honolulu Cake Walk"	Vess Ossman	1898	2003
Victor Releases	Bert Williams and George Walker	1901	2003
"You're a Grand Old Rag [Flag]"	Billy Murray	1906	2003
Chippewa/Ojibwe Cylinder Collection	Frances Densmore	1907–1910	2003
The Bubble Book (the first Bubble Book)		1917	2003
Cylinder recordings of African-American music	Guy B. Johnson	1920s	2003
"Cross of Gold" speech Speech re-enactment	William Jennings Bryan	1921	2003
"The OKeh Laughing Record"	Lucie Bernardo and Otto Rathke	1922	2003
"Adeste Fideles"	Associated Glee Clubs of America	1925	2003
Cajun-Creole Columbia releases	Amédé Ardoin and Dennis McGee	1929	2003
"Goodnight, Irene"	Lead Belly	1933	2003
"Every Man a King" speech	Huey P. Long	February 23, 1935	2003	copy
"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"	Marian Anderson	1936	2003
The Complete Recordings	Robert Johnson	1936–1937	2003
Interviews conducted by Alan Lomax	Jelly Roll Morton, Alan Lomax	1938	2003
Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert	Benny Goodman	1938	2003
Complete day of radio broadcasting, WJSV (Washington, D.C.)	WJSV, Washington, D.C.	September 21, 1939	2003	original
"New San Antonio Rose"	Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys	1940	2003
Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin)	Original cast	1940, 1942	2003
Beethoven String Quartets	Budapest Quartet	1940–1950	2003
World Series-Game Four	New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers	October 5, 1941	2003
Oklahoma! (Rodgers and Hammerstein)	Original cast	1943	2003
Othello	Paul Robeson, Uta Hagen, José Ferrer, and others	1943	2003
Bach B-Minor Mass	Robert Shaw Chorale	1947	2003
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)	Louis Kaufman and the Concert Hall String Orchestra	1947	2003
Piano Sonata No. 2, "Concord" (Ives)	John Kirkpatrick	1948	2003
Pictures at an Exhibition (Modest Mussorgsky)	Rafael Kubelík conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra	1951	2003
"Problems of the American Home"	Billy Graham	1954	2003
Goldberg Variations (Bach)	Glenn Gould	1955	2003
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book	Ella Fitzgerald	1956	2003
"Roll Over Beethoven"	Chuck Berry	1956	2003
Brilliant Corners	Thelonious Monk	1956	2003
Steam locomotive recordings, 6 vol.	O. Winston Link	1957–1977	2003
Complete Ring Cycle (Richard Wagner)	Louis Kaufman and the Concert Hall String Orchestra, Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra	1958–1965	2003
Winds in Hi-Fi	Eastman Wind Ensemble with Frederick Fennell	1958	2003
Mingus Ah Um	Charles Mingus	1959	2003
New York Taxi Driver	Tony Schwartz	1959	2003
Ali Akbar College of Music, Archive Selections		1960s–1970s	2003
"Crazy"	Patsy Cline	1961	2003
Kennedy Inauguration Ceremony	John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Robert Frost, and others	January 20, 1961	2003	original
Judy at Carnegie Hall	Judy Garland	1961	2003
"I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"	Otis Redding	1965	2003
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	The Beatles	1967	2003
At Folsom Prison	Johnny Cash	1968	2003
What's Going On	Marvin Gaye	1971	2003
Tapestry	Carole King	1971	2003
A Prairie Home Companion First broadcast	Garrison Keillor	July 6, 1974	2003
Born to Run	Bruce Springsteen	1975	2003
Live at Yankee Stadium	Fania All-Stars	1975	2003
"Gypsy Love Song"	Eugene Cowles	1898	2004
"Some of These Days"	Sophie Tucker	1911	2004
"The Castles in Europe One-Step (Castle House Rag)"	Europe's Society Orchestra	1914	2004
"Swanee"	Al Jolson	1920	2004
Armistice Day radio broadcast	Woodrow Wilson	November 10, 1923	2004	original
"See See Rider"	Gertrude "Ma" Rainey	1923	2004
"Charleston" Representative of the Edison Disc Master Mold Collection at the Edison National Historic Site	Golden Gate Orchestra	1925	2004
"Fascinating Rhythm"	Fred and Adele Astaire; George Gershwin, piano	1926	2004
NBC radio coverage of Charles A. Lindbergh's arrival and reception in Washington, D.C.		June 11, 1927	2004	copy
"Stardust"	Hoagy Carmichael	1927	2004
"Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)"	Jimmie Rodgers	1927	2004
"Ain't Misbehavin'"	Thomas "Fats" Waller	1929	2004
"Gregorio Cortez" Representative of the Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection, University of California	Trovadores Regionales	1929	2004
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor	Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano; Leopold Stokowski, conductor; Philadelphia Orchestra	1929	2004
"The Suncook Town Tragedy"	Mabel Wilson Tatro	July 1930	2004
Oral narrative from the Lorenzo D. Turner Collection	Rosina Cohen	1932	2004
"Stormy Weather"	Ethel Waters	1933	2004
"Body and Soul"	Coleman Hawkins	1939	2004
Peter and the Wolf (Sergey Prokofiev)	Serge Koussevitzky, conductor; Richard Hale, narrator; Boston Symphony Orchestra	1939	2004
"In the Mood"	Glenn Miller and His Orchestra	1939	2004
Broadcasts from London	Edward R. Murrow	1940	2004	copy
We Hold These Truths (Norman Corwin)		December 15, 1941	2004	original
Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23, Bb minor (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)	Vladimir Horowitz, piano; Arturo Toscanini, conductor; NBC Symphony Orchestra	1943	2004
"Down by the Riverside"	Sister Rosetta Tharpe	1944	2004
U.S. Highball (A Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip)	Harry Partch, Gate 5 Ensemble	1946	2004
Four Saints in Three Acts (Virgil Thomson)	Original cast	1947	2004
"Manteca"	Dizzy Gillespie Big Band with Chano Pozo	1947	2004
The Jack Benny Program	Jack Benny	March 28, 1948	2004
"Foggy Mountain Breakdown"	Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs	1949	2004
"Lovesick Blues"	Hank Williams	1949	2004
Guys and Dolls	Original cast	1950	2004
"Old Soldiers Never Die" (Farewell Address to the United States Congress)	General Douglas MacArthur	April 19, 1951	2004	copy
Songs by Tom Lehrer	Tom Lehrer	1953	2004
"Hoochie Coochie Man"	Muddy Waters	1954	2004
"Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)"	The Penguins	1954	2004
Tuskegee Institute Choir Sings Spirituals	Tuskegee Institute Choir, directed by William L. Dawson	1955	2004
Messiah	Eugene Ormandy, conductor; Richard P. Condie, choir director; Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Philadelphia Orchestra	1958	2004
Giant Steps	John Coltrane	1959	2004
Drums of Passion	Michael Babatunde Olatunji	1960	2004
Peace Be Still	James Cleveland	1962	2004
"The Girl from Ipanema" (Garota de Ipanema)	Stan Getz, João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto	1963	2004
Live at the Apollo	James Brown and The Famous Flames	1963	2004
Pet Sounds	The Beach Boys	1966	2004
King James version of the Bible	Alexander Scourby	1966	2004
Remarks broadcast from the moon	Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong	July 21, 1969	2004	original
At Fillmore East	The Allman Brothers Band	1971	2004
Star Wars (Soundtrack)	John Williams	1977	2004
Recordings of Asian elephants	Katharine B. Payne	1984	2004
Fear of a Black Planet	Public Enemy	1990	2004
Nevermind	Nirvana	1991	2004
"Canzone del Porter" from Martha by von Flotow Representative of the Columbia Grand Opera Series	Edouard de Reszke	1903	2005
"Listen to the Lambs" Representative of the Hampton Quartet Collection, Hampton University	Hampton Quartette; recorded by Natalie Curtis Burlin	1917	2005
"Over There"	Nora Bayes	1917	2005
"Crazy Blues"	Mamie Smith	1920	2005
"My Man" and "Second Hand Rose"	Fanny Brice	1921	2005
"Ory's Creole Trombone"	Kid Ory	June 1922	2005
Second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge	Calvin Coolidge	March 4, 1925	2005
"Tanec Pid Werbamy (Dance Under the Willows)"	Pawlo Humeniuk	1926	2005
"Singin' the Blues"	Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra with Bix Beiderbecke	1927	2005
First official transatlantic telephone conversation	W.S. Gifford and Sir Evelyn P. Murray	January 7, 1927	2005	original
"El manisero (The Peanut Vendor)" (Two versions)	Rita Montaner, vocal with orchestra; Don Azpiazú and His Havana Casino orchestra	1927; 1930	2005
Light's Golden Jubilee Celebration (Thomas Edison, honoree)	Graham McNamee, host; speeches by Herbert Hoover, Marie Curie, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein	October 21, 1929	2005	copy
Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Op. 84	Modesto High School Band	1930	2005
Show Boat	Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, James Melton and others; Victor Young, conductor; Louis Alter, piano	1932	2005
"Wabash Cannonball"	Roy Acuff	1936	2005
"One O'Clock Jump"	Count Basie and His Orchestra	1937	2005
The Fall of the City (Columbia Workshop)	Orson Welles, narrator; Burgess Meredith, Paul Stewart	April 11, 1937	2005	copy
The Adventures of Robin Hood radio broadcast	Erich Wolfgang Korngold, composer; Basil Rathbone, narrator	May 11, 1938	2005
Joe Louis-Max Schmeling fight	Clem McCarthy, announcer	June 22, 1938	2005
"John the Revelator"	Golden Gate Quartet	1938	2005
"Adagio for Strings" (Samuel Barber)	Arturo Toscanini, conductor; NBC Symphony	November 5, 1938	2005
Command Performance, show No. 21	Bob Hope, master of ceremonies; Lena Horne; Ginny Simms; Les Baxter & His Orchestra; Rosalind Russell	July 7, 1942	2005	copy
"Straighten Up and Fly Right"	Nat "King" Cole	1943	2005
The Fred Allen Show debut of Senator Claghorn	Fred Allen, Kenny Delmar	October 7, 1945	2005
"Jole Blon (Jolie Blonde)"	Harry Choates	1946	2005
Tubby the Tuba	Victor Jory & Léon Barzin	1946	2005
"Move On Up a Little Higher"	Mahalia Jackson	1948	2005
Anthology of American Folk Music	Edited by Harry Smith	1952	2005
Damnation of Faust (Hector Berlioz)	Boston Symphony Orchestra with the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society	1954	2005
"Blueberry Hill"	Fats Domino	1956	2005
Variations for Orchestra by Elliott Carter Louisville Orchestra First Edition Recordings series	Louisville Orchestra; Robert S. Whitney, conductor	1956	2005
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"	Jerry Lee Lewis	1957	2005
"That'll Be the Day"	Buddy Holly and The Crickets	1957	2005
Poème électronique	Edgard Varèse	1958	2005
Time Out	The Dave Brubeck Quartet	1959	2005
"Schooner Bradley" and/or "Clifton's Crew" Representative of the Ivan Walton Collection at Bentley Library, University of Michigan	Pat Bonner	June 1960	2005
Studs Terkel interview with James Baldwin Representative of the Studs Terkel Collection at the Chicago History Museum (formerly the Chicago Historical Society)	Studs Terkel, James Baldwin	September 29, 1962	2005
United States Military Academy address	William Faulkner	April 19–20, 1962	2005
"Dancing in the Street"	Martha and the Vandellas	1964	2005
Live at the Regal	B.B. King	1965	2005
Are You Experienced	The Jimi Hendrix Experience	1967	2005
We're Only in It for the Money	Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention	1968	2005
Switched-On Bach	Wendy Carlos	1968	2005
"Oh Happy Day"	Edwin Hawkins Singers	1969	2005
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers	Firesign Theatre	1970	2005
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"	Gil Scott-Heron	1970	2005
Will the Circle Be Unbroken	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band	1972	2005
The old foghorn, Kewaunee, Wisconsin	Recorded by James A. Lipsky	1972	2005
Songs in the Key of Life	Stevie Wonder	1976	2005
Daydream Nation	Sonic Youth	1988	2005
"Uncle Josh and the Insurance Agent"	Cal Stewart	1904	2006
"Il Mio Tesoro"	John McCormack; orchestra conducted by Walter Rogers	1916	2006
National Defense Test	General John J. Pershing	September 12, 1924	2006	copy
"Black Bottom Stomp"	Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers	1926	2006
"Wildwood Flower"	Carter Family	1928	2006
"Pony Blues"	Charley Patton	1929	2006
"You're the Top"	Cole Porter	1934	2006
The Lone Ranger Episode: "The Osage Bank Robbery"	Earle Graser, John Todd	December 17, 1937	2006
"Day of Infamy" speech to Congress	Franklin D. Roosevelt	December 8, 1941	2006	copy
Native Brazilian music recorded under the supervision of Leopold Stokowski	Pixinguinha, Donga, Cartola, Jararaca, Ratinho and José Espinguela	1942	2006
"Peace in the Valley"	Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys	1951	2006
"Polonaise in A Major" ("Polonaise militaire"), Op. 40, No. 1, by Frédéric Chopin	Artur Rubinstein	1952	2006
"Blue Suede Shoes"	Carl Perkins	1955	2006
Interviews with William "Billy" Bell (Canadian-Irish northwoods work songs) Representative of the Edward D. Ives Collection at the Maine Folklife Center, University of Maine	Recorded by Edward D. "Sandy" Ives	1956	2006
Howl	Allen Ginsberg	1959	2006
The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart	Bob Newhart	1960	2006
"Be My Baby"	The Ronettes	1963	2006
We Shall Overcome	Pete Seeger	1963	2006
"A Change Is Gonna Come"	Sam Cooke	1964	2006
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"	The Rolling Stones	1965	2006
The Velvet Underground & Nico	The Velvet Underground and Nico	1967	2006
The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake	Eubie Blake	1969	2006
Burnin'	The Wailers	1973	2006
Live in Japan	Sarah Vaughan	1973	2006
Graceland	Paul Simon	1986	2006
The first transatlantic broadcast		March 14, 1925	2007
"Allons à Lafayette"	Joe Falcon	1928	2007
"Casta Diva" from Bellini's Norma	Rosa Ponselle and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Giulio Setti	December 31, 1928 and January 30, 1929	2007
"If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again"	Thomas A. Dorsey	1934	2007
"Sweet Lorraine"	Art Tatum	1940	2007
Fibber McGee and Molly Fibber's closet opens for the first time	Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan	March 4, 1940	2007
Wings Over Jordan		May 10, 1942	2007
Fiorello H. La Guardia reading the comics	Fiorello H. La Guardia	1945	2007
"Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)"	T-Bone Walker	1947	2007
Speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention	Harry S. Truman	July 15, 1948	2007
The Jazz Scene	Various artists, produced by Norman Granz	1949	2007
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"	Kitty Wells	1952	2007
My Fair Lady	Original cast	1956	2007
Navajo Shootingway Ceremony Field Recordings Representative of the David McAllester Collection at Wesleyan University	Recorded by David McAllester	1957–1958	2007
"Freight Train" and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes	Elizabeth Cotten	1959	2007
United States Marine Band Recordings for the National Cultural Center		1963	2007
"Oh, Pretty Woman"	Roy Orbison	1964	2007
"The Tracks of My Tears"	Smokey Robinson and the Miracles	1965	2007
You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song	Ella Jenkins	1966	2007
Music from the Morning of the World	Various artists, recorded by David Lewiston	1966	2007
For the Roses	Joni Mitchell	1972	2007
Head Hunters	Herbie Hancock	1973	2007
Ronald Reagan radio broadcasts	Ronald Reagan	1976–79	2007
Murmurs of Earth Disc prepared for the Voyager spacecraft	compilation produced by Carl Sagan	1977	2007
Thriller	Michael Jackson	1982	2007
"No News, or What Killed the Dog"	Nat M. Wills	1908	2008
Acoustic recordings for Victor Talking Machine Company	Jascha Heifetz	1917–1924	2008
"Night Life"	Mary Lou Williams	1930	2008
Sounds of the ivory-billed woodpecker	Recorded by Arthur Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg	1935	2008
Gang Busters		1935–1957	2008
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"	The Andrews Sisters	1938	2008
"O Que É Que A Baiana Tem?"	Carmen Miranda	1939	2008
NBC Radio coverage of Marian Anderson's recital at the Lincoln Memorial	Marian Anderson	April 9, 1939	2008
"Tom Dooley"	Frank Proffitt	1940	2008
Mary Margaret McBride	Mary Margaret McBride and Zora Neale Hurston	January 25, 1943	2008
"Uncle Sam Blues" (V-Disc)	Oran "Hot Lips" Page, accompanied by Eddie Condon's Jazz Band	1944	2008
"Sinews of Peace" (Iron Curtain) Speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri	Winston Churchill	March 5, 1946	2008
The Churkendoose	Ray Bolger	1947	2008
"Boogie Chillen'"	John Lee Hooker	1948	2008
A Child's Christmas in Wales	Dylan Thomas	1952	2008
A Festival of Lessons and Carols as Sung on Christmas Eve in King's College Chapel, Cambridge.	King's College Choir; Boris Ord, director	1954	2008
West Side Story	Original cast	1957	2008
"Tom Dooley"	The Kingston Trio	1958	2008
"Rumble"	Link Wray	1958	2008
The Play of Daniel: A Twelfth-Century Drama	New York Pro Musica under the direction of Noah Greenberg	1958	2008
"Rank Stranger"	The Stanley Brothers	1960	2008
"At Last"	Etta James	1961	2008
2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks	Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks	1961	2008
The Who Sings My Generation	The Who	1966	2008
"He Stopped Loving Her Today"	George Jones	1980	2008
"Fon der Choope (From the Wedding)"	Abe Elenkrig's Yidishe Orchestra	April 4, 1913	2009
"Canal Street Blues"	King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band	April 5, 1923	2009
Tristan und Isolde, NBC broadcast	Metropolitan Opera, featuring Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior	March 9, 1935	2009
"When You Wish Upon a Star"	Cliff Edwards	1938 (recorded) / 1940 (released)	2009
America's Town Meeting of the Air: "Should Our Ships Convoy Materials to England?"	George V. Denny, Jr. (host); Reinhold Niebuhr, John Flynn (guests)	May 8, 1941	2009
The Library of Congress Marine Corps Combat Field Recording Collection, Second Battle of Guam.		1944	2009
"Evangeline Special" and "Love Bridge Waltz"	Iry LeJeune	1948	2009
The Little Engine That Could	Paul Wing, narrator	1949	2009
Leon Metcalf Collection of recordings of the First People of western Washington State	Leon Metcalf	1950–1954	2009
"Tutti Frutti"	Little Richard	1955	2009
"Smokestack Lightning"	Howlin' Wolf	1956	2009
Gypsy	Original cast recording	1959	2009
"Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)"	Max Mathews	1961	2009
The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings	Bill Evans Trio	June 25, 1961	2009
I Started Out as a Child	Bill Cosby	1964	2009
Azucar Pa' Ti	Eddie Palmieri	1965	2009
Today!	Mississippi John Hurt	1966	2009
Silver Apples of the Moon	Morton Subotnick	1967	2009
Soul Folk in Action	The Staple Singers	1968	2009
The Band	The Band	1969	2009
"Coal Miner's Daughter"	Loretta Lynn	1970	2009
Red Headed Stranger	Willie Nelson	1975	2009
Horses	Patti Smith	1975	2009
"Radio Free Europe" original Hib-Tone single	R.E.M.	1981	2009
"Dear Mama"	2Pac	1995	2009
Phonautograms	Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville	ca. 1853–1861	2010
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"	Edward Meeker, accompanied by the Edison Orchestra	1908	2010
Yahi language cylinder recordings	Ishi, last surviving member of the Yahi tribe	1911–1914	2010
"Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground"	Blind Willie Johnson	1927	2010
"It's the Girl"	The Boswell Sisters with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra	1931	2010
"Mal Hombre"	Lydia Mendoza	1934	2010
"Tumbling Tumbleweeds"	The Sons of the Pioneers	1934	2010
Talking Union	The Almanac Singers	1941	2010
Jazz at the Philharmonic	Nat "King" Cole, Les Paul, Buddy Rich, others	July 2, 1944	2010
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's "Pope Marcellus Mass"	Roger Wagner Chorale	1951	2010
"The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest"	Reverend C. L. Franklin	1953	2010
"Tipitina"	Professor Longhair	1953	2010
At Sunset	Mort Sahl	1955	2010
Interviews with jazz musicians for the Voice of America	Willis Conover	1956	2010
The Music from Peter Gunn	Henry Mancini	1958	2010
United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Fyffe, Alabama	field recordings by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins	1959	2010
Blind Joe Death	John Fahey	1959, 1964, 1967	2010
"Stand by Your Man"	Tammy Wynette	1968	2010
Trout Mask Replica	Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band	1969	2010
Songs of the Humpback Whale	Frank Watlington, Roger Payne, and others	1970	2010
"Let's Stay Together"	Al Green	1971	2010
Black Angels (Thirteen Images from the Dark Land) (George Crumb)	New York Strings Quartet	1972	2010
Aja	Steely Dan	1977	2010
GOPAC Strategy and Instructional Tapes	Newt Gingrich, others	1986–1994	2010
3 Feet High and Rising	De La Soul	1989	2010
Edison Talking Doll cylinder		November 1888	2011
"Come Down Ma Evenin' Star"	Lillian Russell	1912	2011
"Ten Cents a Dance"	Ruth Etting	1930	2011
Voices from the Days of Slavery	Various	1932–1975	2011
"I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart"	Patsy Montana	1935	2011
"Fascinating Rhythm"	Sol Hoʻopiʻi	1938	2011
Artistry in Rhythm	Stan Kenton	1943	2011
New York Philharmonic debut of Leonard Bernstein	Leonard Bernstein	November 14, 1943	2011
Hottest Women's Band of the 1940s	International Sweethearts of Rhythm	1944–1946 (released 1984)	2011
"Hula Medley"	Gabby Pahinui	1947	2011
Indians for Indians (Hour)	Don Whistler	March 25, 1947	2011
I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945	Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly	1948	2011
"Let's Go Out to the Programs"	The Dixie Hummingbirds	1953	2011
Also Sprach Zarathustra	Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra	1954, 1958	2011
"Bo Diddley"/ "I'm a Man"	Bo Diddley	1955	2011
"Green Onions"	Booker T. & The M.G.'s	1962	2011
A Charlie Brown Christmas	Vince Guaraldi Trio	1965	2011
Forever Changes	Love	1967	2011
The Continental Harmony: The Gregg Smith Singers Perform Music of William Billings	The Gregg Smith Singers	1969	2011
"Coat of Many Colors"	Dolly Parton	1971	2011
Mothership Connection	Parliament	1975	2011
Barton Hall Concert at Cornell University	Grateful Dead	1977	2011
"I Feel Love"	Donna Summer	1977	2011
"Rapper's Delight"	Sugarhill Gang	1979	2011
Purple Rain	Prince and The Revolution	1984	2011
"After You've Gone"	Marion Harris	1918	2012
"Bacon, Beans and Limousines"	Will Rogers	October 18, 1931	2012
"Begin the Beguine"	Artie Shaw	1938	2012
"You Are My Sunshine"	Jimmie Davis	1940	2012
D-Day Radio Broadcast	George Hicks	June 5–6, 1944	2012
"Just Because"	Frank Yankovic & His Yanks	1947	2012
South Pacific Original Cast Recording	Original Cast	1949	2012
Descargas: Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature	Cachao	1957	2012
Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1	Van Cliburn	April 11, 1958	2012
President's Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite	Dwight D. Eisenhower	December 19, 1958	2012
A Program of Song	Leontyne Price	1959	2012
The Shape of Jazz to Come	Ornette Coleman	1959	2012
"Crossing Chilly Jordan"	Blackwood Brothers	1960	2012
"The Twist"	Chubby Checker	1960	2012
Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's	Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, others	1960–1962	2012
Hoodoo Man Blues	Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band feat. Buddy Guy	1965	2012
Sounds of Silence	Simon & Garfunkel	1966	2012
Cheap Thrills	Big Brother and the Holding Company	1968	2012
The Dark Side of the Moon	Pink Floyd	1973	2012
Music Time In Africa	Leo Sarkisian	July 29, 1973	2012
The Wild Tchoupitoulas	The Wild Tchoupitoulas	1976	2012
Ramones	Ramones	1976	2012
Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack	The Bee Gees, et al.	1977	2012
Einstein on the Beach	Philip Glass and Robert Wilson	1979	2012
The Audience with Betty Carter	Betty Carter	1980	2012
"The Laughing Song"	George W. Johnson	c.1896	2013
"They Didn't Believe Me"	Harry Macdonough and Alice Green	1915	2013
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" (Two Versions)	Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee	1932	2013
Recordings of Kwakwaka’wakw Chief Dan Cranmer	Franz Boas and George Herzog	1938	2013
"Were You There"	Roland Hayes	1940	2013
"Sammy Goes to the Army"	The Goldbergs	July 9, 1942	2013
"Caldonia"	Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five	1945	2013
"Dust My Broom"	Elmore James	1951	2013
A Night at Birdland (Vols. 1 & 2)	Art Blakey	1954	2013
"When I Stop Dreaming"	The Louvin Brothers	1955	2013
"Cathy's Clown"	The Everly Brothers	1960	2013
Texas Sharecropper and Songster	Mance Lipscomb	1960	2013
The First Family	Vaughn Meader	1962	2013
Lawrence Ritter's Interviews with Baseball Pioneers of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century	Lawrence Ritter	1962-1966	2013
Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson	Lyndon B. Johnson	1963-1969	2013
Carnegie Hall Concert with Buck Owens and His Buckaroos	Buck Owens and His Buckaroos	1966	2013
"Fortunate Son"	Creedence Clearwater Revival	1969	2013
Shaft	Isaac Hayes	1971	2013
Only Visiting This Planet	Larry Norman	1972	2013
Celia & Johnny	Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco	1974	2013
Copland Conducts Copland: Appalachian Spring	Aaron Copland	1974	2013
Heart Like a Wheel	Linda Ronstadt	1974	2013
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Original Cast Recording	Original Cast	1979	2013
The Joshua Tree	U2	1987	2013
"Hallelujah"	Jeff Buckley	1994	2013
The Vernacular Wax Cylinder Recordings at University of California, Santa Barbara Library	University of California, Santa Barbara	1890-1910	2014
The Benjamin Ives Gilman Collection, recorded at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago	Benjamin Ives Gilman	1893	2014
"The Boys of the Lough"/"The Humours of Ennistymon"	Michael Coleman	1922	2014
"That Black Snake Moan"/ "Matchbox Blues"	Blind Lemon Jefferson	1928	2014
"Sorry, Wrong Number" (episode of Suspense radio series)	Suspense	May 25, 1943	2014
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"	Johnny Mercer	1944	2014
Radio Coverage of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Funeral	Arthur Godfrey, et al.	April 14, 1945	2014
Kiss Me, Kate Original Cast Recording	Original Cast	1949	2014
John Brown's Body	Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson, and Raymond Massey; directed by Charles Laughton	1953	2014
"My Funny Valentine"	The Gerry Mulligan Quartet featuring Chet Baker	1953	2014
"Sixteen Tons"	Tennessee Ernie Ford	1955	2014
"Mary Don't You Weep"	The Swan Silvertones	1959	2014
Joan Baez	Joan Baez	1960	2014
"Stand By Me"	Ben E. King	1961	2014
New Orleans’ Sweet Emma Barrett and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band	Sweet Emma Barrett and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band	1964	2014
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"	The Righteous Brothers	1964	2014
The Doors	The Doors	1967	2014
Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues (formerly known as Sheffield S9)	Lincoln Mayorga	1968	2014
Stand!	Sly and the Family Stone	1969	2014
A Wild and Crazy Guy	Steve Martin	1978	2014
Sesame Street: Platinum All-Time Favorites	Various	1995	2014
OK Computer	Radiohead	1997	2014
Songs of the Old Regular Baptists	Various	1997	2014
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill	Lauryn Hill	1998	2014
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman	Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor; Joan Tower, composer	1999	2014
"Let Me Call You Sweetheart"	Peerless Quartet	1911	2015
"Wild Cat Blues"	Clarence Williams' Blue Five	1923	2015
"Statesboro Blues"	Blind Willie McTell	1928	2015
"Bonaparte's Retreat" Representative of Alan and Elizabeth Lomax's 1937 Kentucky recordings	W.H. Stepp	1937	2015
"Decoration Day Parade"	Vic and Sade	May 28, 1937	2015
Mahler: Symphony No. 9	Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Bruno Walter, conductor	1938	2015
Carousel of American Music	George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Arthur Freed, Shelton Brooks, Hoagy Carmichael, others	September 24, 1940	2015
The Marshall Plan Speech	George C. Marshall	June 5, 1947	2015	copy
"A Garage in Gainesville" and "Execution Awaited"	Destination Freedom	September 25 and October 2, 1949	2015
A Streetcar Named Desire soundtrack	Alex North	1951	2015
"Cry Me a River"	Julie London	1955	2015
"Mack the Knife" (Two Versions)	Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin	1956 and 1959	2015
Fourth-quarter radio coverage of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game	Bill Campbell, announcer	March 2, 1962	2015
A Love Supreme	John Coltrane	1964	2015
It's My Way!	Buffy Sainte-Marie	1964	2015
"Where Did Our Love Go"	The Supremes	1964	2015
"People Get Ready"	The Impressions	1965	2015
"Mama Tried"	Merle Haggard	1968	2015
Abraxas	Santana	1970	2015
Class Clown	George Carlin	1972	2015
Robert and Clara Schumann Complete Piano Trios	Beaux Arts Trio	1972	2015
"Piano Man"	Billy Joel	1973	2015
Bogalusa Boogie	Clifton Chenier	1976	2015
"I Will Survive"	Gloria Gaynor	1978	2015
Master of Puppets	Metallica	1986	2015
1888 London cylinder recordings of Col. George Gouraud	George Gouraud	1888	2016
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" (Two Versions)	Manhattan Harmony Four and Melba Moore & Friends	1923 and 1990	2016
"Puttin' On the Ritz"	Harry Richman	1929	2016
"Over the Rainbow"	Judy Garland	1939	2016
"I'll Fly Away"	The Chuck Wagon Gang	1948	2016
"Hound Dog"	Big Mama Thornton	1952	2016
Saxophone Colossus	Sonny Rollins	1956	2016
New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers final game commentary	Vin Scully	September 8, 1957	2016
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs	Marty Robbins	1959	2016
The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery	Wes Montgomery	1960	2016
People	Barbra Streisand	1964	2016
"In the Midnight Hour"	Wilson Pickett	1965	2016
"Amazing Grace"	Judy Collins	1970	2016
All Things Considered first episode	National Public Radio	May 3, 1971	2016
"American Pie"	Don McLean	November 1971	2016
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	David Bowie	1972	2016
The Wiz Original Cast Recording	Original Broadway Cast	1975	2016
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)	Eagles	1976	2016
Scott Joplin's Treemonisha	Gunther Schuller, arr.	1976	2016
Wanted: Live in Concert	Richard Pryor	1978	2016
"We Are Family"	Sister Sledge	1979	2016
Remain in Light	Talking Heads	1980	2016
Straight Outta Compton	N.W.A	1988	2016
Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (All-Night Vigil)	The Robert Shaw Festival Singers	1990	2016
Signatures	Renée Fleming	1997	2016
“Dream Melody Intermezzo: Naughty Marietta"	Victor Herbert and his Orchestra	1911	2017
Standing Rock Preservation Recordings	George Herzog and Members of the Yanktoni Tribe	1928	2017
"Lamento Borincano"	written by Rafael Hernández Marín performed by Canario y Su Grupo (including Davilita on lead vocals)	1930	2017
"Sitting on Top of the World"	Mississippi Sheiks	1930	2017
The Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas	Artur Schnabel	1932-1935	2017
"If I Didn't Care"	The Ink Spots	1939	2017
Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on International Organization		1945	2017
Folk Songs of the Hills	Merle Travis	1946	2017
"How I Got Over"	Clara Ward and the Ward Singers	1950	2017
"(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock"	Bill Haley & His Comets	1954	2017
Calypso	Harry Belafonte	1956	2017
"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"	Tony Bennett	1962	2017
"My Girl"	The Temptations	1964	2017
King Biscuit Time	Sonny Boy Williamson II and others	1965	2017
The Sound of Music soundtrack	Various	1965	2017
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree"	Arlo Guthrie	1967	2017
New Sounds in Electronic Music	Steve Reich, Richard Maxfield, Pauline Oliveros	1967	2017
An Evening with Groucho	Groucho Marx	1972	2017
Rumours	Fleetwood Mac	1977	2017
"The Gambler"	Kenny Rogers	1978	2017
"Le Freak"	Chic	1978	2017
"Footloose"	Kenny Loggins	1984	2017
Raising Hell	Run-DMC	1986	2017
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You"	Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine	1987	2017
Yo-Yo Ma Premieres: Concertos for Violoncello and Orchestra	Yo-Yo Ma & the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Christopher Rouse, Leon Kirchner, and Richard Danielpour	1996	2017
Yiddish Cylinders from the Standard Phonograph Company of New York and the Thomas Lambert Company		c.1901-1905	2018
"The Memphis Blues"	Victor Military Band	1914	2018
Melville Jacobs Collection of Native Americans of the American Northwest	Melville Jacobs	1929-1939	2018
"Minnie the Moocher"	Cab Calloway	1931	2018
Bach Six Cello Suites	Pablo Casals	c. 1939	2018
"They Look Like Men of War"	Deep River Boys	1941	2018
Gunsmoke Episode: "The Cabin"		December 27, 1952	2018
Complete Recorded Monologues	Ruth Draper	1954-1956	2018
"La Bamba"	Ritchie Valens	1958	2018
"Long Black Veil"	Lefty Frizzell	1959	2018
Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America Volume One: The Early Years	Stan Freberg	1961	2018
Go	Dexter Gordon	1962	2018
War Requiem	Benjamin Britten	1963	2018
"Mississippi Goddam"	Nina Simone	1964	2018
"Soul Man"	Sam & Dave	1967	2018
Hair Original Broadway cast recording	Original Broadway Cast	1968	2018
Robert F. Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.	Robert F. Kennedy	April 4, 1968	2018
"Sweet Caroline"	Neil Diamond	1969	2018
Super Fly	Curtis Mayfield	1972	2018
Ola Belle Reed	Ola Belle Reed	1973	2018
"September"	Earth, Wind & Fire	1978	2018
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"	Sylvester	1978	2018
She's So Unusual	Cyndi Lauper	1983	2018
Schoolhouse Rock!: The Box Set	Various	1996	2018
The Blueprint	Jay-Z	2001	2018
"Whispering"	Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra	1920	2019
"Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti"/"Sacco e Vanzetti"	Compagnia Columbia; Raoul Romito	1927	2019
"La Chicharronera"	Narciso Martínez and Santiago Almeida	1936	2019
Arch Oboler's Plays Episode: "The Bathysphere"		Nov. 18, 1939	2019
"Me and My Chauffeur Blues"	Memphis Minnie	1941	2019
The 1951 National League Tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers	Russ Hodges, announcer	Oct. 3, 1951	2019
Tosca (Puccini)	Victor de Sabata, conductor, with Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano and others	1953	2019
"Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah"	Allan Sherman	1963	2019
WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination	Boston Symphony Orchestra	Nov. 22, 1963	2019
Fiddler on the Roof	Original Broadway cast	1964	2019
"Make the World Go Away"	Eddy Arnold	1965	2019
Hiromi Lorraine Sakata collection of Afghan traditional music	Recorded by Hiromi Lorraine Sakata	1966–67, 1971–73	2019
"Wichita Lineman"	Glen Campbell	1968	2019
Dusty in Memphis	Dusty Springfield	1969	2019
Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"	Fred Rogers	1973	2019
Cheap Trick at Budokan	Cheap Trick	1978	2019
Suite No. 1 in E flat, Suite No. 2 in F (Holst) / Music for the Royal Fireworks (Handel) / Fantasia in G (Bach) Special edition audiophile pressing	Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds	1978	2019
"Y.M.C.A."	Village People	1978	2019
A Feather on the Breath of God	Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor; Hildegard von Bingen, composer	1981/2 (released 1985)	2019
Private Dancer	Tina Turner	1984	2019
Ven Conmigo	Selena	1990	2019
The Chronic	Dr. Dre	1992	2019
"I Will Always Love You"	Whitney Houston	1992	2019
Concert in the Garden	Maria Schneider Orchestra	2004	2019
Percussion Concerto (Higdon)	Colin Currie	2008	2019
"St. Louis tinfoil" recording	Thomas Edison	1878	2020
"Nikolina"	Hjalmar Peterson	1917	2020
"Smyrneikos Balos"	Marika Papagika	1928	2020
"When the Saints Go Marching In"	Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra	1938	2020
Christmas Eve broadcast (Dec. 24, 1941)	Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill	1941	2020
The Guiding Light (Nov. 12, 1945)		1945	2020
Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues	Odetta	1957	2020
"Lord, Keep Me Day by Day"	Albertina Walker and the Caravans	1959	2020
Roger Maris hits his 61st home run (Oct. 1, 1961)	Phil Rizzuto	1961	2020
Aida	Leontyne Price, et al.	1962	2020
"Once a Day"	Connie Smith	1964	2020
Born Under a Bad Sign	Albert King	1967	2020
Free to Be ... You & Me	Marlo Thomas and Friends	1972	2020
The Harder They Come	Jimmy Cliff	1972	2020
"Lady Marmalade"	Labelle	1974	2020
Late for the Sky	Jackson Browne	1974	2020
Bright Size Life	Pat Metheny	1976	2020
"Rainbow Connection"	Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson)	1979	2020
"Celebration"	Kool & the Gang	1980	2020
Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs	Jessye Norman	1983	2020
Rhythm Nation 1814	Janet Jackson	1989	2020
Partners	Flaco Jiménez	1992	2020
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"	Israel Kamakawiwo'ole	1993	2020
Illmatic	Nas	1994	2020
This American Life: "The Giant Pool of Money" (May 9, 2008)	Ira Glass, Adam Davidson & Alex Blumberg	2008	2020

Statistics

As of 2020, the oldest recording on the list is Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville's Phonautograms which date back to the 1850s. The most recent are Colin Currie's recording of Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto and the This American Life podcast episode "The Giant Pool of Money" (each from 2008).

Selections vary widely in duration. The early Edison recordings and the instrumental "Rumble" by Link Wray, as well as "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets clock in at under three minutes. The Edison "Talking Doll" cylinder is only 17 seconds long and some of Scott de Martinville's Photoautograms are just as brief. Meanwhile, Georg Solti's recording of Wagner's complete Ring Cycle is approximately 15 hours in duration, Alexander Scourby's recitation of the King James Bible is over 80 hours, and Lyndon B. Johnson's recordings are nearly 850 hours in length.

People with multiple entries on the Registry

• Louis Armstrong: Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings, Canal Street Blues (King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band), Murmurs of Earth ("Melancholy Blues"), "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Mack The Knife"
• Leontyne Price: A Program of Song and Aida (Verdi)
• Diana Ross: "Where Did Our Love Go" (The Supremes) and Free to Be... You and Me (solo)
• Jim Henson: "Rainbow Connection" and Sesame Street: Platinum All-Time Favorites ("Bein' Green") (both as Kermit the Frog); ("Rubber Duckie" and "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon," as Ernie)
• Marvin Gaye: What's Going On, "Dancing in the Street" (Martha and the Vandellas) and Cornell 5/8/77 (Grateful Dead's cover of "Dancing in the Street")
• Clarence Ashley: Anthology of American Folk Music and Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's
• Tito Puente: Dance Mania and Abraxas (Santana)
• Harry Belafonte: Calypso and Free to Be... You and Me (with Marlo Thomas)
• Al Green: "Let's Stay Together" and Private Dancer (Tina Turner)
• Merle Haggard: "Mama Tried" and Cornell 5/8/77 (Grateful Dead's cover of "Mama Tried")
• Carole King: Tapestry and Dusty in Memphis (Dusty Springfield)
• Mel Brooks: The 2,000 Year Old Man (with Carl Reiner) and Free to Be... You and Me (with Marlo Thomas)
• George Frideric Handel: Messiah (Eugene Ormandy), Concerto Grosso in B flat major (Erich Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony Orchestra) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds)
• Lead Belly: "Goodnight, Irene" and Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (Odetta's cover of "Alabama Bound")
• Marian Alsop: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (Joan Tower) and Percussion Concerto (Jennifer Higdon)
• Fats Domino: "Blueberry Hill", Horses (Patti Smith) and Cheap Trick at Budokan (band's cover of "Ain't That a Shame")
• Peter Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 (Van Cliburn) and Signatures (Renée Fleming)
• Dave Brubeck: Time Out and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Wes Montgomery's cover of "In Your Own Sweet Way")
• Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and Lincoln Mayorga And Distinguished Colleagues (Lincoln Mayorga's cover of "Don't Think Twice")
• Jackson Browne: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) (Eagles) and Late for the Sky (solo)
• Brian Wilson: Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys) and Lincoln Mayorga And Distinguished Colleagues (Mayorga's cover of "Good Vibrations")
• Don Henley: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) (Eagles) and Late for the Sky (vocals)
• Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring and Murmurs of Earth (also containing a section of the same piece)
• Frederick Fennell: Winds in Hi-Fi and Suite No. 1 in E flat, Suite No. 2 in F (Gustav Holst) / Music for the Royal Fireworks (Handel) / Fantasia in G (Bach)
• Benjamin Britten: War Requiem and Signatures (Fleming)
• Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Fritz Reiner), Winds in Hi-Fi (Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds), Four Last Songs (Jessye Norman), A Program of Song (Leontyne Price) and Signatures (Fleming)
• Dolly Parton: "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston) and "Coat of Many Colors"
• Isaac Hayes: Shaft and The Chronic (sampled by Dr. Dre)
• Gil Scott-Heron: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and The Chronic (sampled by Dr. Dre)
• George Clinton: Mothership Connection (Parliament) and The Chronic (sampled by Dr. Dre)
• Blind Willie McTell: "Statesboro Blues" and At Fillmore East (Allman Brothers' cover of "Statesboro Blues")
• T-Bone Walker: "Stormy Monday" and At Fillmore East (Allman Brothers' cover of "Stormy Monday")
• Dr. Dre: Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A) and The Chronic (solo)
• Stevie Wonder: "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (Melba Moore & Friends) and Songs in the Key of Life (solo)
• John Coltrane: Kind of Blue (Miles Davis), Giant Steps, and A Love Supreme
• Bill Evans: Kind of Blue and The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
• Scott Joplin: Ragtime piano rolls and Treemonisha
• Orson Welles: War of the Worlds and The Fall of the City
• Chuck Berry: "Roll Over, Beethoven" and Murmurs of Earth (containing "Johnny B. Goode")
• Curtis Mayfield: "People Get Ready" (The Impressions) and Super Fly (solo)
• Joe Falcon: "Allons à Lafayette" and Anthology of American Folk Music
• Paul Robeson: Show Boat and Othello
• Bing Crosby: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "White Christmas"
• Miles Davis: "Ko-Ko" and Kind of Blue
• Paul Simon: Sounds of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel) and Graceland (solo)
• Dizzy Gillespie: "Ko-Ko" and Manteca
• George Gershwin: "Rhapsody in Blue", Porgy and Bess, Cheap Thrills (Janis Joplin's cover of "Summertime"), "Swanee" and "Fascinating Rhythm"
• James Brown: Fear of the Black Planet (sampled by Public Enemy), The Chronic (sampled by Dr. Dre), My Generation (The Who) and Live at the Apollo
• Otis Redding: "Respect" (Aretha Franklin), 3 Feet High and Rising (sampled by De La Soul) and "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"
• Professor Longhair: "Tipatina" and Crescent City Living Legends Collection
• Clifton Chenier: Crescent City Living Legends Collection and Bogalusa Boogie
• Herbie Hancock: Songs in the Key of Life and Head Hunters
• Paul McCartney: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Lincoln Mayorga And Distinguished Colleagues (Mayorga's covers of "I'll Be Back" and "She's Leaving Home"), Private Dancer (Tina Turner) and Thriller (Michael Jackson)
• Johnny Mercer: Carousel of American Music and "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"
• The Carter Family: "Wildwood Flower", Anthology of American Folk Music and Bristol sessions
• Mother Maybelle Carter: "Wildwood Flower", Anthology of American Folk Music, Bristol sessions, and Will The Circle Be Unbroken (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
• Jimmie Rodgers: "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)", Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (Odetta's cover of "Muleskinner Blues") and Bristol sessions
• Nat King Cole: "Straighten Up and Fly Right" and Jazz at the Philharmonic
• Judy Garland: Judy at Carnegie Hall and "Over the Rainbow"
• Thomas A. Dorsey: Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Gospel Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey and "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again"
• Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story, and New York Philharmonic debut
• Edward R. Murrow: I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945 and 1941 broadcasts from London
• Roy Acuff: Grand Ole Opry debut, "Wabash Cannonball", and Will The Circle Be Unbroken (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) (vocals)
• Carol Kaye: Pet Sounds (Beach Boys), "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (The Righteous Brothers), and Forever Changes (Love) (each as part of The Wrecking Crew)
• Cole Porter: "You're the Top", Kiss Me, Kate, Go (Dexter Gordon) and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
• John Lee Hooker: "Boogie Chillen" and Live at the Regal (B.B. King)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Murmurs of Earth (The Magic Flute) and Signatures (Fleming)
• Stephen Sondheim: West Side Story, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Jimmy Webb: "Wichita Lineman" (Glenn Campbell) and Lincoln Mayorga And Distinguished Colleagues (Mayorga's cover of "Up, Up and Away")
• Rodgers and Hammerstein: South Pacific, People (Barbra Streisand), Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music
• Brian Eno: Remain in Light (Talking Heads) and The Joshua Tree (U2) (each as producer)
• Irving Berlin: "God Bless America", "Puttin' on the Ritz", People (Streisand) and Carousel of American Music
• Hoagy Carmichael: "Stardust" and Carousel of American Music
• Jelly Roll Morton: Alan Lomax interviews and Black Bottom Stomp
• Marian Anderson: 1939 recital at the Lincoln Memorial and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"
• Clarence Ashley: Anthology of American Folk Music and Old Time Music's At Clarence Ashley's
• Bo Diddley: "I'm a Man" and My Generation (The Who's cover of same song)
• Mississippi John Hurt: Anthology of American Folk Music and Today!
• Arturo Toscanini: Piano Concerto No. 1 and "Adagio for Strings"
• Alan Lomax: Jelly Roll Morton interviews and United Sacred Harp Musical Convention in Fyffe, Alabama
• Leopold Stokowski: 1942 recording of Native Brazilian music and Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor
• Robert Shaw: Mass in B minor (Robert Shaw Chorale) and All-Night Vigil (Robert Shaw Festival Singers)
• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor and All-Night Virgil
• J.S. Bach: Mass in B minor (Robert Shaw Chorale), Switched-On Bach (Wendy Carlos), Fantasia in G (Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds), Cello Suites (Pablo Casals), Murmurs of Earth (Bradenburg Concerto, The Well-Tempered Clavier & Partita for Violin Solo No. 3 in E Major) and Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould)
• Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison and 3 Feet High and Rising (sampled by De La Soul)
• Steely Dan: Aja and 3 Feet High and Rising (sampled by De La Soul) (each in 2010)
• Michael Jackson: Thriller, Illmatic (sampled by Nas) and The Blueprint (Jackson 5; sampled by Jay-Z; additional vocals)
• Jim Morrison: The Doors (The Doors) and The Blueprint (sampled by Jay-Z)
• Al Green: "Let's Stay Together" and The Blueprint (sampled by Jay-Z)
• David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Private Dancer (Tina Turner) and The Blueprint (sampled by Jay-Z)
• Blind Willie Johnson: Anthology of American Folk Music, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" and Murmurs of Earth (also featuring "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground")
• Teo Macero: Mingus Ah Um (Charles Mingus) and Time Out (Brubeck) (each as producer)
• Harold Arlen: '"Over the Rainbow" (Both Judy Garland and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) and People (Streisand)
• Kurt Weill: "Mack the Knife" (both versions by Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin) and Saxophone Colossus (Rollins)
• Blind Lemon Jefferson: "That Black Snake Moan/Matchbox Blues" and Anthology of American Folk Music
• Bob Dorough: 3 Feet High and Rising (sampled by De La Soul) and Schoolhouse Rock! Soundtrack
• The Everly Brothers: Graceland (additional vocals) and "Cathy's Clown" (performers)
• Linda Ronstadt: Graceland (backup vocals) and Heart Like a Wheel (solo)
• Uncle Dave Macon: Anthology of American Folk Music and Grand Ole Opry debut
• Bertolt Brecht: "Mack the Knife" (both versions by Armstrong and Darin) and Saxophone Colossus (Rollins)
• Julie Andrews: The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady
• Frank Zappa: We're Only in It for the Money (Mothers of Invention) and Trout Mask Replica (producer)
• Sammy Cahn: People (Streisand) and Go (Gordon)
• Jerry Bock: People (Streisand) and Fiddler on the Roof
• Sheldon Harnick: People (Streisand) and Fiddler on the Roof
• Marty Robbins: Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs and Cornell 5/8/77 (Grateful Dead's cover of "El Paso")
• Jule Styne: Gypsy, People (Streisand) and Go (Gordon)
• Sonny Rollins: Brilliant Corners (Thelonious Monk), The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Wes's cover of "Airegin") and Saxophone Colossus (solo)
• Celia Cruz: Celia & Johnny and Fania All-Stars Live At Yankee Stadium (vocals)
• Johnny Pacheco: Celia & Johnny and Fania All-Stars Live At Yankee Stadium (conductor)
• Ismael Quintana: Azúcar Pa' Ti (Eddie Palmieri), Fania All-Stars Live At Yankee Stadium (vocals), and Celia & Johnny (maracas)
• Kool and the Gang: "Celebration" and Illmatic (sampled by Nas)
• Paul Whiteman: Rhapsody in Blue and "Whispering"
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Kreutzer Sonata (Béla Bartók and Joseph Szigeti), Complete String Quartets (Budapest Quartet), Egmont Overture (Modesto High School Band), Complete Piano Sonatas (Artur Schnabel), Murmurs of Earth (a section of Symphony No.5 conducted by Otto Klemperer) and Marcia Funebre (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
• John Lennon: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Lincoln Mayorga And Distinguished Colleagues (Mayorga's covers of "I'll Be Back" and "She's Leaving Home") and Private Dancer (Tina Turner)
• Phil Spector: "Be My Baby" (The Ronettes) and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" (The Righteous Brothers)
• Prince: Purple Rain, She's So Unusual (Cyndi Lauper's cover of "When You Were Mine"), and Fear of a Black Planet (sampled by Public Enemy)
• Thomas Edison: 1888-89 exhibition recordings ("Around the World on the Phonograph", "The Pattison Waltz" and "Fifth Regiment March") and 1878 "St. Louis tinfoil" recording
• FDR: 1941 Christmas Eve broadcast and "Fireside chats"
• Winston Churchill: "Sinews of Peace" and 1941 Christmas Eve broadcast

See also

• Grammy Hall of Fame
• National Film Registry
• Sounds of Australia
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

External links

• National Recording Preservation Board
• Full National Recording Registry
• NPR All Things Considered – series spotlighting selections from the Registry
• Selection spotlights on WNYC
• National Recording Registry selections videoseach on the official Library of Congress YouTube channel