Rags to riches: The band tees in your closet that could be worth a fortune

Rags to riches: The band tees in your closet that could be worth a fortune

Although we love custom t-shirts here at Spreadshirt. We also love all things T-shirt related, so we have looked into band tees, to see if you could have a fortune hidden away in your closet.

Band tees are a staple of every closet. Whether hidden in storage or passed down from generation to generation, they’re the go-to for music fans looking to wear their influences on their sleeve. 

Classic band tees and vintage thrift shopping has seen renewed interest from young audiences in recent years. There has been a 34% surge in posts on TikTok using the #Thrift hashtag over the last 12 months in the USA, compared to the previous year. 

Following this demand, rare and vintage band t-shirts have become highly sought-after fashion pieces. Music lovers up and down the country may unknowingly be sitting on a goldmine, with select classic band tees now selling for thousands of dollars.

With this in mind, the team here at Spreadshirt have taken it upon ourselves to analyze over 84,000 sales of band and music artist t-shirts. From this, we find which band tees sitting at the bottom of closets across the USA could potentially attract big bucks! 

Which band tees top the 2024 value charts?

#1 Grateful Dead

Panther tour tee / 1990s / Sells for up to $2,750.00

T-shirts from the iconic rock band The Grateful Dead are a staple in closets across the US. Replica t-shirts can be found in shopping malls to Walmarts, usually emblazoned with their iconic ‘Stealie’ logo.

These modern reproductions can often be found in sale racks for budget-friendly prices, but none will bear the price tag of the original merchandise.

This tour t-shirt and piece of music history will set you back $2,750.00 – so be careful not to stain it.

#2 Nirvana

In Utero long sleeve tour tee / 1990s / Sells for up to $2,000.00

Grunge fans in possession of this tee could be in ‘Nirvana’, with the seminal Seattle band featuring on the second most expensive band t-shirt sold this year – at a price of $2,000.00.

The angsty trio have accumulated a die-hard fan base far beyond their tenure in the 90s. Celebrities spotted wearing Nirvana tees include Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Travis Scott, having become a household name since the death of lead singer Kurt Cobain.

#3 Björk

Post tour tee / 1995 / Sells for up to $1,895.50

Eclectic Icelandic singer Björk has cultivated a cultish following, many of whom are willing to pay above and beyond for a piece of authentic Björk merch.

Fans owning a t-shirt featuring Björk’s second studio album, Post, could be in for a small fortune – the original 1995 release has sold for massive $1,895.50.

Björk also takes the fourth spot, with a tee promoting her first album Björk fetching $1,400.00.

The Top 100: Does your favorite band tee feature in the most valuable ranking?

The bands most likely to earn you big money

Nirvana claim top spot as the band with the most valuable t-shirts, with Cobain and Co.’s tees fetching an average of $278.51.

In second place, California rockers Red Hot Chilli Peppers see average vintage merch prices of $240.54. Earth, Wind & Fire take third place, with the disco legends’ merchandise averaging $235.00 per tee.

Fans of Outkast could be in the money, with the iconic rap duo’s legacy creating an average price of $224.99, in fourth place.

Meanwhile, Guns N’ Roses t-shirts place fifth most valuable, at an average price of $187.83.

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Gen X music fans are best-placed to cash in on their old threads. Artists from the 1970s-80s claim the most valuable tees, with the top 10 70s-80s bands fetching an average of $153.42.

Tees from 90s–2000s bands prove the second most valuable, with sales averaging $152.19. Current fashion trends are seeing a return to baggy fits, with prices peaking for original vintage 90s clothing.

Conversely, 2000s-2010s bands average at $119.24, with t-shirts from this era yet to see much vintage-hype.

Which band tees have the highest average resale value

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How to know if your vintage band t-shirt is valuable, according to an expert

What’s the difference between a band t-shirt destined for the garbage and the vintage band t-shirt that might earn thousands of dollars?

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We’ve enlisted a vintage expert Louisa Rogers, Director at vintage shop Trendlistr and Assistant Professor of BA (Hons) Fashion Communication at Northumbria University, to reveal how to tell if an item has value, how popular culture and news stories can alter your item’s worth, and the best places to sell your classic band t-shirts:

“There are two layers which determine the value of an item. The first relates to its ‘intrinsic’ (product-based) value. This means what materials is it made of? What is craftsmanship like? How many of these pieces are surviving/out there in circulation? 

“The second consideration relates to the external factors that will influence the value of a piece: what is the ‘hype’ around the item? Is the brand name or designer covetable? Has a celebrity been seen in the brand or a similar design recently, which has increased popular demand for it? Has it become a status symbol?

“It’s also worth considering how unusual it is as a piece. Statement items and quirky prints or silhouettes are more valuable because of their inherent rarity.

“To determine a vintage item’s value, do your online research! See what the brand name or item sells for (or similar equivalents) on different resale sites such as eBay, Vinted, or Depop. Using Google Lens to find similar listings can help with this.

“Remember that the price it is listed at doesn’t always reflect what it eventually gets sold at, but it’s a good start!”

Which artists hold the most vintage value in each genre?

(Defined by height of fame)
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Rock comes out as the most valuable genre by a significant margin, with the top 10 most valuable rock t-shirts averaging $179.54. Oasis, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica and AC/DC all feature in rock’s most valuable artists, with tees averaging between  $160.33 and $102.13.

Pop is the second most valuable genre, with the top 10 t-shirts accruing an average sale price of $144.70. Paul McCartney takes second place behind Earth, Wind & Fire with an average of $179.95. Following him, reggae legend Bob Marley sits at $159.66, Prince at $157.79, and Scandi wedding song specialists Abba at $134.84.

Rap and Hip-hop takes third place, at average prices of $116.18. Kanye West places second best to Outkast, followed by the late Soundcloud rapper XXXTentacion at an average of $163.31. In fourth place, Jay-Z claims an average price of $111.79, narrowly beating Eminem at $111.63

In fourth place, R&B averages at $82.01 per t-shirt. Boyz II Men are crowned the R&B group with the most valuable merch, with tees selling for an average of $116.25. Also boasting the priciest t-shirts in R&B, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson and Usher claim top five spots, with averages of $111.00 to $95.71.

As time passes, these vintage t-shirts could continue to increase in value as their rarity increases.

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What were previously considered old clothes destined for the trash, could now be worthy investments; from AC/DC to ZZ Top, the band tees hanging in the back of the closet might just pay your rent.

So for the collectors and long-term investors alike, be sure to support up and coming artists – you never know how much their tees could be worth one day…

Methodology

  • We analyzed over 84,000 listings of band and music artist t-shirts sold on popular resale marketplace websites
  • Data was taken from December 2023 and September 2024, and only concerned sold listings to show accurate data of sale value and to calculate precise averages
  • The data was then categorized by sale value, year produced, artist, and related genre of the listing
  • Eras and genres of each artist were attributed based on their height of commercial fame
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