diff --git a/worker/lyra_worker/_musicbrainz.py b/worker/lyra_worker/_musicbrainz.py
index 03a1b3d..ec73c13 100644
--- a/worker/lyra_worker/_musicbrainz.py
+++ b/worker/lyra_worker/_musicbrainz.py
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ def _is_album(g: dict) -> bool:
     return (g.get("primary-type") or "").casefold() == "album"
 
 
+def _rg_year(g: dict) -> int:
+    """First-release year of a release-group, or 9999 when unknown (so undated groups lose ties)."""
+    frd = (g.get("first-release-date") or "")[:4]
+    return int(frd) if frd.isdigit() else 9999
+
+
 def _credited_artist(g: dict) -> str:
     """Primary credited artist name of a release-group search result, or '' if absent."""
     credit = g.get("artist-credit")
@@ -56,7 +62,12 @@ def _best_release_group(artist: str, album: str, groups: list) -> dict | None:
       * title similarity is next;
       * an Album primary-type only breaks ties *within* the same artist+title, so a famous
         album (Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall") still isn't resolved to its same-named
-        single whose short tracklist would map positionally onto the album's files.
+        single whose short tracklist would map positionally onto the album's files;
+      * finally, the EARLIEST release-group wins — MusicBrainz lists the original album and its
+        later reissues/anniversary editions as separate same-titled groups (Linkin Park "Hybrid
+        Theory": a 2000 original and a 2023 13-track reissue), which tie on everything above, so
+        MB's arbitrary relevance order used to pick a reissue whose longer tracklist/runtime then
+        failed completeness checks against the standard album a source delivers. Prefer the original.
     Artist is a ranking signal, never a hard filter — a low match sinks a candidate but
     never drops the release, so credited-name variations (feat., punctuation) still resolve.
     Returns None below the title threshold. Pure — no network I/O."""
@@ -68,6 +79,7 @@ def _best_release_group(artist: str, album: str, groups: list) -> dict | None:
             _ratio(artist, _credited_artist(g)),
             _ratio(album, g.get("title", "")),
             _is_album(g),
+            -_rg_year(g),  # tie-break: the original (earliest) group over later reissues
         ),
     )
     if _ratio(album, best.get("title", "")) < _MIN_TITLE_RATIO:
diff --git a/worker/tests/test_musicbrainz.py b/worker/tests/test_musicbrainz.py
index 48d8f25..2da579a 100644
--- a/worker/tests/test_musicbrainz.py
+++ b/worker/tests/test_musicbrainz.py
@@ -51,6 +51,21 @@ def test_empty_groups_returns_none():
     assert _best_release_group("Michael Jackson", "Off the Wall", []) is None
 
 
+def test_prefers_original_group_over_later_reissue():
+    # Real "Hybrid Theory" bug: MB lists a 2000 original and a 2023 reissue as separate same-titled
+    # Album groups (tie on artist/title/type). The reissue's longer tracklist fails completeness
+    # checks, so the original (earliest) must win regardless of MB's relevance order.
+    groups = [
+        {"id": "reissue", "title": "Hybrid Theory", "primary-type": "Album",
+         "first-release-date": "2023-07-21",
+         "artist-credit": [{"artist": {"name": "Linkin Park"}}]},
+        {"id": "original", "title": "Hybrid Theory", "primary-type": "Album",
+         "first-release-date": "2000-10-24",
+         "artist-credit": [{"artist": {"name": "Linkin Park"}}]},
+    ]
+    assert _best_release_group("Linkin Park", "Hybrid Theory", groups)["id"] == "original"
+
+
 def test_prefers_credited_artist_over_same_titled_other_artist_album():
     # Real-world "Fun Machine" bug: Lake Street Dive's EP is what we followed, but two
     # unrelated bands also have a release group literally titled "Fun Machine" as an Album.