Choro Q-3 Original Sound Collection Vol.1
http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e202674071

on YJA for (what will likely sell for over) $200. This caught me by surprise as I've never suspected it.
EDIT: Sold for 101,000 yen ($910) -- roughly as sought after as the elusive Goemon 5 OST a month ago

And how about this!? Sound Horizon. Never heard of it. Over $700
http://page24.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a … q135955576

Super DK Jungle Fantasy proving its weight in gold (bananas) -- actually I would consider this DK album a rarity in these circles.
http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/a … r169569453

Null

Not game music - http://sh-whitecrow.com/wiki/index.php? … D_Thanatos

(Sound Horizon, BTW, is Revo's band....Revo being the composer for Bravely Default)

Gust 20th Anniversary Box

Regret not preordering this one

Suruga-ya's buy list is a good indication of what's most expensive.  Here it is sorted by price:

http://www.suruga-ya.jp/search_buy?cate … C%E3%83%A0

Pretty amazing that they'll buy copies of DKC2 for 90,000 yen.

It should also be said that expensive and rare aren't always one and the same.  There's plenty of rare stuff out there which isn't in demand - and thus can be had affordably (assuming you can find a copy to buy).

Particularly albums printed in small quantities in the US or Korea as opposed to Japan.  I'm been hunting for things like World of Warcraft: Mosaic, Granado Espada: Renaissance Soundtrack, Tree of Savior Soundtrack, and BanYa's InterLock that I have either never seen for sale or maybe once.

Even with Otaku.com's typical 70-125% markup, that's hefty. I still marvel at single releases reaching the thousand mark at auction.

Are you willing to pay the high price? I know some people "hope" someone lists such a CD on ebay for $10  not knowing what it is. Don't expect that to ever happen. Most likely you'll pay $200-500 for it. Especially Mosaic, if you manage to find a copy.

Aside: There's always the question of whether it's ethical to purchase a "valuable" item from an unwary buyer. I'm guessing the vast majority of people don't care (of course, the vast majority of people are unethical).

True. I just found a Kirby arrange CD originally released in 2006 that I've had never seen physically anywhere before I bought it. The only reason I knew about its existence 10 years later was a rip from back when Slightly Dark was a thing (now, VGMdb).

Now that I think about it my post was incorrect as that box was release last year. Was this topic about 2016 rare releases or just what's rare "in the now?"

I'd totally expect to pay a good amount, though certainly not 500.  There's that one guy on ebay with Warcraft Taverns listed for $600 for over a year and I have no idea where he decided on that price since the last time I saw one sell it was less than $200 (but he's had the only copy for sale I've seen since and sat on it).

I sold my copy as a set a year ago, maybe more? It went for a sizable chunk -primarily because of Mosaic and Taverns (Taverns was autographed). However, Taverns doesn't seem to be as rare. Still, if I had a copy of Mosaic (which I don't) I would ask at least $300.  Sometimes I am surprised at the prices CDs sell for. Keep in mind if you just want to listen to the music you can purchase the album for what, $9 as a download? Of course I totally understand wanting to add this for your collection, and wish you luck