How to Nab the Hottest Pieces of Rock History

Remember who you're competing against: It isn't just the sharks who are looking to buy and re-sell for a profit, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (which mostly looks for donations), the Hard Rock Café, with its seemingly bottomless pockets, and other well-heeled collectors.

If you see it, and you want it, and it has the imprimatur of authentication, grab it while you can, because they're not making any more and the price will probably be more next year -- even if, say, Jimmy Page's bow never quite fetches the price of a Van Gogh canvas.

The Beatles still far and away outrank every other artist, even Elvis, not only because of the fond memories of Beatlemania, but also due to the brevity of their recording career (about six years) and their multigenerational appeal.

John Lennon's working lyrics for the song "All You Need is Love" sold for over $1 million at auction, setting a new record (previously, his lyrics for "Nowhere Man" sold for a comparative pittance at almost half-a-million bucks). But this is the high end; depending upon the artist and the fame of the song itself, prices can start as low as $1,000.

Larry Marion, once auction director at a rock memorabilia house and currently a consultant to Gotta Have It!, says "the biggest growth has been in the area of the items from the 1950s and '60s: The Beatles, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and so on. The icons who have endured are the most secure investments, and have risen steadily in value."