| Year | Title | Artist | Notes | Chart positions |
|---|
| UK | US |
|---|
| 1968 | The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter | The Incredible String Band | Uncredited vocals on "The Minotaur's Song" | 5 | 161 |
| 1969 | Marc Ellington | Marc Ellington | Guitar | — |
| Five Leaves Left | Nick Drake | Overdubbed electric guitar on "Time Has Told Me" |
| Love Chronicles | Al Stewart | Guitar, under pseudonym Marvyn Prestwick |
| If You Want It | The Magic Christians | Single, promptly reissued with the corrected title Come and Get It. Thompson is uncredited but there is evidence he plays electric guitar. [13] [14] [15] |
| 1970 | Matthews' Southern Comfort | Matthews' Southern Comfort | Thompson plays guitar. Although titled simply Matthews' Southern Comfort on the cover, it is generally regarded as a solo Iain Matthews album rather than part of the later Matthews Southern Comfort discography. |
| Strange Fruit | Gary Farr | Lead guitar |
| 1971 | Bryter Layter | Nick Drake | Electric guitar on "Hazey Jane II" |
| Smiling Men with Bad Reputations | Mike Heron | Guitar on "Flowers of the Forest" |
| If You Saw Thro' My Eyes | Iain Matthews | Electric and acoustic guitar, accordion |
| Rains/Reins of Changes | Marc Ellington | Electric guitar and backing vocals |
| Stargazer | Shelagh McDonald | Guitar on "Baby Go Slow" |
| Street Singer | Mick Softley | Electric guitar |
| The North Star Grassman and the Ravens | Sandy Denny | Electric guitar and acoustic guitars, bass, accordion, vocals |
| Bless the Weather | John Martyn | Guitar |
| 4th English Album | Françoise Hardy | |
| Those Pleasant Days | Stefan Grossman | Electric guitar |
| 1972 | Tigers Will Survive | Iain Matthews | Guitar |
| Jump at the Sun | John Kirkpatrick | 12-string guitar on "The Widow of Westmorland’s Daughter", under pseudonym Agnes Mirren |
| Bright Phoebus | Lal and Mike Waterson | Guitar on all tracks except 'Red Wine & Promises' |
| Sandy | Sandy Denny | Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin |
| 1973 | Rosie | Fairport Convention | Electric and 12-string guitars on the track 'Rosie' |
| Solid Air | John Martyn | Mandolin on 'Over the Hill' | 88 [k] | — |
| Urban Cowboy | Andy Roberts | Lead electric guitar on "Elaine" | — |
| 1974 | Like an Old Fashioned Waltz | Sandy Denny | Electric guitar on "Solo" and "No End" | — | 197 |
| Fear | John Cale | Slide guitar on "Momamma Scuba" | — |
| 1975 | Is Having a Wonderful Time | Geoff Muldaur | Lead guitar on "Tennessee Blues" |
| Marc Time | Marc Ellington | Backing vocals |
| Fantasies From a Corner Seat | Harvey Andrews & Graham Cooper | Acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin & backing vocals on "Targets" |
| Mike Heron's Reputation | Mike Heron | Electric guitar on "Down On My Knees (After Memphis)" |
| 1976 | Vanishing Trick: Poems And Songs | Brian Patten | Guitar on "Embroidered Butterflies" and "After Frost" |
| 1977 | Rendezvous | Sandy Denny | Electric guitar on "Candle in the Wind" |
| 1978 | Rise Up Like the Sun | The Albion Band | Backing vocals on "Poor Old Horse" and "Lay Me Low" |
| Julie Covington | Julie Covington | Guitar and backing vocals |
| 1979 | Slide Away the Screen | Ralph McTell | Guitar on "Harry (Don’t Go)", "Promises" and "Save the Last Dance for Me" |
| 1980 | Night Owl | Gerry Rafferty | Mandolin on 'Why Won't You Talk to Me?', guitar on 'Family Tree' and 'Already Gone' | 9 | 29 |
| 1981 | Teddy Boys Don't Knit | Vivian Stanshall | Guitar | — |
| Smiddyburn | Dave Swarbrick | Guitar, mandolin and mandocello |
| Thunderin' On The Horizon | Arizona Smoke Review | Guitar on "Border Song" |
| Voices | Murray Head | Electric guitar on "Old Soho" |
| The Sound of the Sand and Other Songs of the Pedestrian | David Thomas & the Pedestrians | Guitar and dulcimer |
| 1982 | Water of Dreams | Ralph McTell | Lead guitar on “I’m Not a Rock” and “I Want You” |
| Out of the Cut | Martin Carthy | Guitar on "Old Horse" |
| 1983 | Fame and Wealth | Loudon Wainwright III | Electric guitar and mandolin on "Reader And Advisor" and acoustic guitar on "April Fools Day Morn" |
| Any Trouble | Any Trouble | Electric guitar on "Falling In Love With You Again" |
| Flittin' | Dave Swarbrick | Guitar, mandolin and mandocello on several tracks |
| 8 | JJ Cale | Guitars | 47 | — |
| Proof Through the Night | T Bone Burnett | Guitar and mandolin on "Shut It Tight" | — |
| 1984 | Behind the Trap Door | |
| Wrong End of the Race | Any Trouble | Guitar on "Open Fire", "Lucky Day" and "Like a Man", vocals on "Baby Now That I've Found You" |
| 1985 | Gladys' Leap | Fairport Convention | Lead electric guitar on "Head in a Sack" |
| I'm Alright | Loudon Wainwright III | Guitar and mandolin |
| Rackbag | Folk och Rackare | Electric guitar on "Liten Kersti Stalldräng" |
| Visions of Excess | The Golden Palominos | Electric guitar on "Boy (Go)", "Silver Bullet", "(Kind of) True" and "Buenos Aires" |
| 1986 | Electric Bluebirds | Electric Bluebirds | Guitar |
| Supply and Demand | Dagmar Krause | Guitar and banjo |
| More Love Songs | Loudon Wainwright III | Guitar, mandolin and vocals |
| Expletive Delighted! | Fairport Convention | Guitar on "Hanks for the Memory" |
| Raptures of the Deep | The Deep Sea Jivers | Guitar on "Deep Sea Jiving", "Night Train" and "(Do the) Wapping Hop" |
| 1987 | Bridge of Sighs | Ralph McTell | Lead guitar on "The Girl from the Hiring Fair" and "Bridge of Sighs" |
| As Real as Disneyland | Julian Dawson and the Flood | Electric and acoustic guitar |
| Time of No Reply | Nick Drake | A compilation of previously unreleased tracks. Thompson plays electric guitar on a version of "The Thoughts of Mary Jane" recorded in 1968, now more easily found on Made to Love Magic . |
| Slam Dance (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | Mitchell Froom and various artists [l] | Guitar on "A Prayer for Miss Velveteen" |
| Blue Balloon | John Kirkpatrick | Electric and acoustic guitars |
| Studio Romantic | Saeko Suzuki | Electric guitar on "TV Dinner" |
| 1988 | The Auld Folks on the Wa’ and other Bothy Ballads | Charlie Allan | Mandolin |
| Temple of Low Men | Crowded House | Electric guitar solo on "Sister Madly" | — | 40 |
| Hot Cajun Rhythm ’n’ Blues | Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew | Electric guitar on "Wooly Bully", "Bayou Pom Pom" and "Woman or a Man" | — |
| 1989 | Maria McKee | Maria McKee | Electric guitar | 49 | 120 |
| Therapy | Loudon Wainwright III | Electric guitar on “Your Mother and I” | — |
| Surprise | Syd Straw | Electric guitar on “Heart of Darkness” and “Golden Dreams” |
| 1991 | Cajun Conja | BeauSoleil | Electric guitar on "Conja (New Orleans 1786)" and "Sur Le Pont De Lyon" |
| Drunk with Passion | The Golden Palominos | Guitar on five tracks |
| Luck of the Draw | Bonnie Raitt | Electric guitar on "Not the Only One" | 38 | 2 |
| Hope You Like Our New Direction | Henry Kaiser | Acoustic guitar on "Kanaka Wai Wai" and "Annihilation in Allah", plus vocals on the latter | — |
| Places I Have Never Been | Willie Nile | Electric guitar and backing vocals on ‘Café Memphis’, electric guitar on ‘Children of Paradise’, acoustic guitar on ‘That’s Enough for Me’ |
| 1992 | 99.9F° | Suzanne Vega | Guitar solo on 'As Girls Go’ | 20 | 86 |
| Be Headed | Chris Harford and the First Rays of the New Rising Sun | Acoustic guitar on "You Know Me the Best" | — |
| Fat City | Shawn Colvin | Electric guitar on "Tennessee" | — | 142 |
| His Master's Choice – The Songs Of Richard Thompson | Dave Burland | Guitar on five tracks | — |
| The Hunter | Jennifer Warnes | Electric guitar on "Lights of Lousianne" |
| 1993 | The Assassin's Apprentice | Stephen Fearing | Electric guitar on "Down to the Wire" |
| Fate of Nations | Robert Plant | Guitar on "Come Into My Life" | 6 | 34 |
| Orphans & Outcasts, Volume 2: 1981–1989 | Iain Matthews | On eight tracks of 1981–1989 demos, working references and outtakes | — |
| 1994 | Amplified Heart | Everything but the Girl | Lead electric guitar on "25th December" | 20 | 46 |
| Cut and Run | Danny Carnahan and Robin Petrie | Electric guitar on "Cut and Run", "Girls in Black" and "Laughing in the Dark" | — |
| Longing in Their Hearts | Bonnie Raitt | Second acoustic guitar on "Dimming of the Day" | 26 | 1 |
| 1995 | Camouflage | Iain Matthews | | — |
| 1996 | Dreams Fly Away: A History of Linda Thompson | Linda Thompson | Richard Thompson plays on five previously unreleased tracks from their duo era |
| Baptist Hospital | Boo Hewerdine | Guitar on "World’s End", "Holy Water" and "Greedy" |
| Blue Aconite | Christine Collister | Guitar on "How Far the Horizon?", "Paper Wings" and "Midnight Feast" |
| Norma Waterson | Norma Waterson | Acoustic and electric guitars |
| 1997 | Move Over Darling | Julian Dawson |
| Who Knows Where the Time Goes? | Fairport Convention | Vocals on "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", live from Cropredy 1995 |
| L'Amour Ou La Folie | BeauSoleil | Electric guitar on “L’Amour Ou La Folie” and acoustic guitar on “Charivari” |
| 1998 | Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) | Nanci Griffith | Electric guitar on "You Were on My Mind" and "Desperados Waiting for a Train" |
| The Dark Gift of Time | Christine Collister | Electric guitar on "The Whole Night Sky" |
| 1999 | Memory of the Future | Eric Andersen | Electric guitar on "Sudden Love", "Chinatown" and "Hills of Tuscany" |
| Spark | Julian Dawson | Electric guitar on "Two Shots of Jealousy" |
| Orphans and Outcasts Volume 3 | Iain Matthews | |
| The Very Thought of You | Norma Waterson | Acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, hurdy‑gurdy and backing vocals |
| 2000 | Long Expectant Comes At Last | Cathal McConnell | Lap steel guitar, guitar and vocals |
| Teddy Thompson | Teddy Thompson | Guitar on 5 tracks |
| 2001 | Give Me a Sad Song | Linda Thompson | Richard Thompson plays guitar and bass on a previously unreleased song "Restless Boy", as well as contributing to previously released material |
| Mazurka Berzerker | John Kirkpatrick | Electric guitar on "The Dance of the Jews / Lebedik un Freylekh" |
| 2002 | Fashionably Late | Linda Thompson | Electric guitar and vocals on "Dear Mary" |
| Spremenite Protokol | Andrej Sifrer | Guitar on four tracks |
| 2003 | 12 Arrows | Judith Owen | Acoustic guitar and vocals on “Poseidon” |
| Go Tell It on the Mountain | The Blind Boys of Alabama | Electric guitar on “In the Bleak Midwinter” | — | 164 |
| So Damn Happy | Loudon Wainwright III | Guitar on “The Home Stretch” | — |
| 2004 | The Common Stone | Bob Davenport | Thompson gives two solo acoustic guitar performances (without Davenport's involvement) entitled “Davenport’s Cakewalk” and “Davenport’s Retreat" |
| The Ride | Los Lobos | Guitar and vocals on “Wreck of the Carlos Rey” | — | 75 |
| 2005 | Always | June Tabor | Thompson plays guitar on his song "Mrs Rita" from the BBC Radio 1 documentary The Last Shift, a different recording to that on Hard Cash | — |
| Lost and Found | Judith Owen | Acoustic guitar and backing vocals on “Night and Day” |
| Separate Ways | Teddy Thompson | Guitar on five tracks |
| 2006 | Nothing Like a Dame | Julian Dawson | Electric guitar on "Move Over Darling" |
| 2007 | Crazy Hair Day | Barney Saltzberg | Vocals on "Song for Pete" |
| Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John | Peter Case | Guitar and vocal on “Every 24 Hours” |
| Release the Stars | Rufus Wainwright | Acoustic guitar on "Tiergarten", electric guitar on "Going to a Town" and "Between My Legs" | 2 | 23 |
| South of Delia | Richard Shindell | Guitar on "The Humpback Whale" and "Texas Rangers" | — |
| Strange Weirdos | Loudon Wainwright III | Electric guitar on "Grey in L.A.", "Final Frontier" and "Lullaby" |
| Happy This Way | Judith Owen | Acoustic guitar and vocals on "Nicholas Drake" |
| Upfront & Down Low | Teddy Thompson | Guitar on "Walking the Floor Over You", "Down Low" and "You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye)" |
| Rewind: Unreleased Recordings | JJ Cale | Recorded between 1971 and 1993. Thompson plays guitar on 'Seven Day Woman'. |
| 2008 | Visions | Hans Theessink and Terry Evans | Electric guitar on "Mother Earth" and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" |
| A Piece of What You Need | Teddy Thompson | Guitar on "Don’t Know What I Was Thinking", "Slippery Slope (Easier)" and (as a bonus track on some versions) "Christmas" | 10 | — |
| 2011 | Bella | Guitar | 42 |
| Purpose and Grace | Martin Simpson | Electric guitar on "The Sheffield Apprentice", "Brothers Under the Bridge" and "Little Liza Jane" | — |
| Just Me and You | Emitt Rhodes | Single. Thompson plays lead guitar. |
| This Wall Between Us | Single, different version to that on the album Rainbow Ends. Thompson plays lead guitar. |
| What's a Man to Do |
| 2012 | 20 | Kate Rusby | Electric guitar and vocals on "Who Will Sing Me Lullabies" | 22 | — |
| Find the One | The Coal Porters | Guitar on "Hush U Babe / Burnham Thorpe" | — |
| Marvin Country! | Marvin Etzioni | Vocals on "It Don't Cost Much", which he co-wrote with Etzioni |
| 2013 | Won't Be Long Now | Linda Thompson | Acoustic guitar on "Love's for Babies and Fools" | 76 | — |
| 2014 | Tell 'Em I'm Gone | Yusuf | Acoustic guitar on "I Was Raised In Babylon" | 22 | 24 |
| Соль (Salt) | Boris Grebenshchikov | Guitar on "Губернатор" ("Governor") and "На ржавом ветру" ("In Rusty Wind") | — |
| 2015 | Emerald | Dar Williams | Guitar on the title track |
| 2016 | 75th Birthday Celebration | Joan Baez | Guitar on "House of the Rising Sun", "She Never Could Resist a Winding Road" and "The Boxer", plus vocals on the latter two. |
| Cayamo: Sessions at Sea | Buddy Miller | Electric guitar and vocals on "Wedding Bells" |
| 2017 | Streets of London | Ralph McTell featuring the Crisis Choir with guest vocalist Annie Lennox | Single raising money for Crisis. Thompson plays an electric guitar solo. | 94 | — |
| 2018 | Smalls Change | Derek Smalls | Guitar on "She Puts the Bitch in Obituary" | — |
| Letters Never Read | Dori Freeman | Electric guitar |
| 2019 | Second Hand Sexbot | Judith Owen | Single. Thompson plays guitar on the studio recording. |
| 2020 | Song to a Refugee | Diana Jones | Guitar and harmony vocals on "I Wait for You" and the title track, vocals and electric guitar on "We Believe You" |
| Meditation and KitKats | Zara Phillips | Guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, accordion and harmony vocals |
| Heartbreaker Please | Teddy Thompson | Electric guitar on the title track |
| Dudu Phukwana and the "Spears" | Dudu Phukwana and the "Spears" | Thompson played guitar on an 'album of mostly unreleased 1969 recordings' that were released in 2020 packaged with the group's self-titled debut (released in 1969) |
| 2021 | Red Willow | Michael Hays | Guitar on "Road Will Rise" |
| 2022 | The Admiralty Lights: Complete Studio, Live and Rare 1964-2009 | Al Stewart | Thompson plays on some radio sessions from 1972 |
| 2024 | Julian Dawson | Julian Dawson | Guitar on "Jesus and Judas" and "That's Why God Made Saturday Night" |
| The Definitive Anthology 1977-1981 | Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club | Cimbalom on "Morning Kids" from the band's previously unreleased 1980 recordings with producer John Wood |
| 2026 | Never Be the Same | Teddy Thompson | Guitar riff on "Make Up Your Mind" |
