PJ Harvey Vinyl Records – Rid of Me, Stories from the City & Essential Albums on Vinyl

Polly Jean Harvey is one of the most distinctive and consistent artists of the last thirty years, and the only artist to have won the Mercury Prize twice. Born in Yeovil, Somerset in 1969, her catalogue moves from the blues-damaged fury of the early 90s records through the more melodic Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000), the piano-based White Chalk (2007), the Mercury-winning political epic Let England Shake (2011), and the strange, processional I Inside the Old Year Dying (2023).

Each record is its own discrete world — Harvey has never repeated herself, and rarely sits still long enough for a pattern to settle. Her collaborations — with John Parish, Nick Cave, Thom Yorke, Mick Harvey — are as consistently strong as her own albums. PJ Harvey on vinyl is exceptional — the way she records voice (very close, very direct) and the careful attention to instrumental texture throughout her catalogue really reward the format. The Island originals and the Too Pure early pressings are genuinely collectable.

Best PJ Harvey Albums on Vinyl

Rid of Me (1993)
The Steve Albini–produced second album. Rid of Me, 50ft Queenie, Man-Size, Dry — one of the most visceral records of the 90s, recorded almost entirely live to tape. Abrasive, confrontational and extraordinary.

Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
Her first Mercury winner. Good Fortune, A Place Called Home, This Is Love, We Float — her warmest, most melodic record, written in New York with Thom Yorke guesting on several tracks. Often considered her most accessible entry point.

Let England Shake (2011)
Her second Mercury winner. The title track, The Last Living Rose, The Words That Maketh Murder, England — a concept album about war and Englishness that is genuinely one of the finest political records of the 21st century.

White Chalk (2007)
The piano-based departure. White Chalk, The Devil, Dear Darkness, The Piano — a record written almost entirely on an instrument Harvey didn't know how to play. Spare, haunted and beautiful.

To Bring You My Love (1995)
The record that broke her through internationally. Down by the Water, C'mon Billy, Send His Love to Me — darker and more slick than Rid of Me, with Flood producing. Nominated for a Grammy and an essential PJ Harvey record.

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Alternative / IndieRock