Ar ethe current LP's available for $25 or so as goos as the old ones.

Lacquer-cutting on a lathe from an analog master tape is an art in itself!

If  you are purchasing new recent artist releases, you're forced to buy to buy one of those new "Oversized black CeeDee's" for whatever price they are.

Anything new is digitally recorded, so what's the point? Hear it on a nice setup, call it a day. As far as reissues, 98% are disappointing. Unless it is true unobtanium, I punt.

Thankfully, I don't listen to much past 1980, so there is UNLIMITED amount of  LP's in dusty bins for cheap. One of my neighborhood stores has a 3 for $10 section. Those  60/70's Classic Rock LP's that most have forgotten are just waiting to be played again.

Latest acquisitions- Cream-Fresh Cream-mono!, Buffalo Springfield-Again, Springsteen-Darkness(finally found a clean copy) These according to discogs are all 1st press.

try to follow the analogue path. Original pressings on quality vinyl will sound way better than any questionable reissue. Asking price of originals cannot be valued.
G

In my opinion the Zappa vinyl reissues have been very well done (mastered by Bernie Grundman and Chris Bellman, pressed at Pallas), and for sane prices. And if a particular title could not be cut from an analog source, at least they're honest about it. I wish everyone else (including MFSL) would be a little more forthcoming in that regard....

chakster is right, we need to distinguish between record collectors and audiophiles. I actually hadn't even thought about that. I assumed the OP was talking about new ultra-audiophile issues where the specialized and limited pressing drives the price sky high.