Vinyl pops and clicks: Can they be eliminated??

Fair enough, Jim, but I still think it possible to have started this thread with a little better premise. It sounds like you are no stranger to audio, was vinyl always been your main source or was it just another source? I ask because for one who does have some background you don't seem that experienced with vinyl. Sorry if my impression is wrong.

BTW, I love Close to the Edge but prefer the Atlantic to the MoFi. FWIW

Give Palasr's advice a try. You just might be able to salvage it.

Jim emailed me off-list and described his record care practices, pretty much what he posted in response to Dan_Ed plus a few more details.

As I suspected, those practices are inadequate and may indeed have allowed this record to develop a skip. In addition to cautiously seconding Palasr's suggestion, I gave Jim additional information and several suggestions that may help solve the problem.

Like it or not, a record which begins skipping is evidence of inadequate care. This is particularly likely when a person's previous posts suggest little or no experience with effective care. Stating this fact and seeking further information is neither "slapping" them nor "imagining" anything nor "rampaging". It's called problem solving.

Comments that offer no useable content while criticizing others which do are gratuitous. Feel-good chat will not stop record skipping. Concrete technical suggestions like those I sent Jim may.

Well, you can disown the bristling tone of your posts in this thread if you wish but the poster felt unnecessarily chastised and at least two readers thought it was out of line. You're a knowledgeable guy and contribute a lot to this forum. Thank you. But that fact doesn't mean you shouldn't be called on it when you're unnecessarily harsh to someone who reaches out in good faith. Similarly, you should know that voices asking for politeness do indeed offer usable content to a conversation, though perhaps at a pitch occasionally outside of the range of your hearing.

Skipping on a record is not always because of inadequate care. There can be setup and alignment problems, incompatibilities between the cartridge and arm, floor and room resonance issues etc. Once a groove is damaged, it will repeat itself.

Why don't you just rip off his epaulets and break his tonearm across your knee! If that ain't enough we can always shoot his dog.

The guy asked a simple question which IMO deserved a simple answer, not a personal admonishment.

Are toothpicks really thin enough to correct groove defects?