In early 2024, an unexpected surprise arrived on the Taylor Swift vinyl scene: unofficial releases–otherwise known as bootlegs–intentionally made to mimic the appearance of the rare and sought-after Record Store Day editions of Taylor's first five studio albums.

Due to the increasingly high value of the original five RSD releases, concerns grew around the possibility of these bootlegs being used to scam collectors into thinking they were purchasing the original pressings and receiving the bootlegs instead. In addition to being unofficial releases, bootlegs are historically known for their low quality audio source and poor artwork and material quality. As a result, the need to document the differences between the real and bootleg releases became immediately apparent.

At the time of the writing, there are three (3) known bootlegs of the 2018 Record Store Day vinyl releases. In order of their release date chronologically, they are:

Additionally, a fourth bootleg was made of Taylor's 2023 Record Store Day offering in late 2024:

Similarly, but unrelated to the Record Store Day pressings, Swift's debut EP Beautiful Eyes and the live recording from her 2011 tour Speak Now World Tour Live were never pressed on vinyl and bootlegs were made and distributed throughout 2023 through 2024. However, as these two albums were never officially pressed on vinyl in any capacity, they won't be talked about in this specific article.

That being said: during the Summer of 2024, a bootleg was announced of the 2013 promotional vinyl sent to Academy of Country Music (ACM) voters for Taylor's For Your Consideration campaign. This vinyl was pressed on red vinyl, and often forgotten as the first ever colored vinyl release of Taylor's discography. Though not a Record Store Day release, it was pressed from the same manufacturers and as the Red RSD bootleg and will be talked about here as well.