diff --git a/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.test.ts b/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.test.ts
index 26b082a..be3b909 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.test.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from "vitest";
-import { searchArtists, browseReleaseGroups, searchReleaseGroup } from "./musicbrainz";
+import { searchArtists, browseReleaseGroups, searchReleaseGroup, stripEditionQualifiers } from "./musicbrainz";
 
 function jsonResponse(data: unknown) {
   return Promise.resolve({ ok: true, status: 200, json: () => Promise.resolve(data) } as Response);
@@ -76,4 +76,39 @@ describe("musicbrainz module", () => {
     // the decoded query must contain the escaped quote, not a bare one that closes the phrase
     expect(decodeURIComponent(url)).toContain('Back in \\"Black\\"');
   });
+
+  it("retries with an edition-stripped title when the exact phrase finds nothing", async () => {
+    // Last.fm hands us "The Stranger (Legacy Edition)"; the strict phrase for that returns 0,
+    // then the stripped "The Stranger" resolves to the release group.
+    const fetchMock = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(jsonResponse({ "release-groups": [] }))
+      .mockReturnValueOnce(jsonResponse({ "release-groups": [
+        { id: "rg-str", title: "The Stranger", "primary-type": "Album", "secondary-types": [], "first-release-date": "1977", "artist-credit": [{ artist: { id: "bj", name: "Billy Joel" } }] },
+      ] }));
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+    const m = await searchReleaseGroup("Billy Joel", "The Stranger (Legacy Edition)");
+    expect(m?.rgMbid).toBe("rg-str");
+    // first attempt used the full title, second used the stripped title
+    expect(decodeURIComponent(fetchMock.mock.calls[0][0])).toContain("The Stranger (Legacy Edition)");
+    expect(decodeURIComponent(fetchMock.mock.calls[1][0])).toContain('releasegroup:"The Stranger"');
+  });
+});
+
+describe("stripEditionQualifiers", () => {
+  it("removes trailing edition parentheticals and suffixes", () => {
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("The Stranger (Legacy Edition)")).toBe("The Stranger");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("21 (Deluxe)")).toBe("21");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Nevermind - Remastered")).toBe("Nevermind");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Rumours - Remastered 2011")).toBe("Rumours");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Blue [Deluxe Edition]")).toBe("Blue");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Vitalogy (2016 Remaster)")).toBe("Vitalogy");
+  });
+
+  it("leaves non-edition titles untouched", () => {
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("(What's the Story) Morning Glory?")).toBe("(What's the Story) Morning Glory?");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Continuum")).toBe("Continuum");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Songs in the Key of Life")).toBe("Songs in the Key of Life");
+    expect(stripEditionQualifiers("Give Up")).toBe("Give Up"); // "Up" is not a stray edition word
+  });
 });
diff --git a/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.ts b/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.ts
index 6af2e92..612d259 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/musicbrainz.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,27 @@ function escapeLucenePhrase(s: string): string {
   return s.replace(/[\\"]/g, (c) => "\\" + c);
 }
 
+// Last.fm album names carry per-RELEASE edition/version qualifiers ("(Legacy Edition)",
+// " - Remastered 2011", "[Deluxe]") that are NOT part of the release-GROUP title, so a
+// strict phrase search finds nothing. Strip a trailing parenthetical/bracket or " - "
+// suffix ONLY when it names an edition/version (never a plain parenthetical like
+// "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", which isn't trailing anyway).
+const EDITION_RE =
+  /\b(deluxe|expanded|legacy|remaster(ed)?|anniversary|reissue|bonus|special|collector'?s?|edition|version|mono|stereo|explicit|clean)\b/i;
+
+export function stripEditionQualifiers(album: string): string {
+  let s = album.trim();
+  for (;;) {
+    const before = s;
+    // trailing (...) or [...]
+    s = s.replace(/\s*[([][^()[\]]*[)\]]\s*$/, (m) => (EDITION_RE.test(m) ? "" : m)).trimEnd();
+    // trailing " - ..." / " – ..." / " — ..." suffix
+    s = s.replace(/\s+[-–—]\s+[^-–—]*$/, (m) => (EDITION_RE.test(m) ? "" : m)).trimEnd();
+    if (s === before) break;
+  }
+  return s.trim() || album.trim(); // never collapse to empty
+}
+
 // When several release groups share the searched title (e.g. MusicBrainz ties the
 // "Thriller" single with the album at the same score, listing the single first), prefer
 // the canonical studio album. Lower rank = better; MB's own ordering breaks ties within
@@ -73,9 +94,21 @@ function albumPreferenceRank(g: any): number {
 }
 
 export async function searchReleaseGroup(artist: string, album: string): Promise<ReleaseGroupMatch | null> {
-  const query = `releasegroup:"${escapeLucenePhrase(album)}" AND artist:"${escapeLucenePhrase(artist)}"`;
-  const data = await mbGet(`/release-group?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&fmt=json&limit=5`);
-  const groups: any[] = data["release-groups"] ?? [];
+  const art = escapeLucenePhrase(artist);
+  const stripped = stripEditionQualifiers(album);
+  // Decreasing precision: exact phrase on the given title, then on the edition-stripped
+  // title, then a loose (unquoted, OR'd terms) fallback. Stop at the first that yields hits
+  // so the clean case still costs one request.
+  const attempts = [`releasegroup:"${escapeLucenePhrase(album)}" AND artist:"${art}"`];
+  if (stripped !== album) attempts.push(`releasegroup:"${escapeLucenePhrase(stripped)}" AND artist:"${art}"`);
+  attempts.push(`releasegroup:(${escapeLucenePhrase(stripped)}) AND artist:"${art}"`);
+
+  let groups: any[] = [];
+  for (const query of attempts) {
+    const data = await mbGet(`/release-group?query=${encodeURIComponent(query)}&fmt=json&limit=10`);
+    groups = data["release-groups"] ?? [];
+    if (groups.length > 0) break;
+  }
   if (groups.length === 0) return null;
   // groups arrive in MB relevance order; keep that as the tiebreak (reduce only switches on
   // a strictly better rank, so equal-ranked earlier hits win).