I think the first step is to identify the piece of music you want to acquire, and if it's classical figure out which recording is the one you want (that's a musical issue, not an audiophile one). If not classical, there may only be one original release, or there may be re-releases (usually in better shape but sometimes not such a good pressing).
I have mostly had good luck with used records, and if from discogs I sort the available disks by condition and look for the best one I can afford. If you are in a used record shop you can see for yourself if there are scratches. Everything gets cleaned before it goes near one of my styli.
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Buy what you like to hear. Do buy used LPs but only under the following stipulations: (1) you examine the LP yourself, both sides, and there are no, zero, scratches or blemishes, and the surface retains its new vinyl sheen, or (2) you buy from a reputable source on line that grades their used LPs, and you buy only Grade A, or (3) you’ve grown to trust a vinyl reseller and he offers right of return if the LP is unlistenable. You almost have to be willing to buy used LPs if you want to accumulate a decently large collection, and if you are starting from scratch, unless you are wealthy and/or careless about the amount you spend.
There are dependable quality labels, but any attempt to list those will inevitably be incomplete. In jazz, I can recommend in no particular order ECM, Steeplechase, Pablo, Verve, Columbia, some Capitol, Vanguard, Pacific Jazz (old label, mostly mono), Riverside, Contemporary, Atlantic (somewhat colored but will produced), Blue Note (to me also somewhat colored but very collectible and therefore sometimes ridiculously pricey), Jasmine (which seems to be reissues but good sound), MCA,..... I’ll stop there. Someone will recommend Direct to Disc labels. Yes, great SQ but the artists on those labels are seldom first rate.
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I use Music Direct if want a new album. Typically buying only audiophile pressings. I have had very bad luck with Amazon.
If I want used, I go to a local store so I can examine the record carefully.
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The cheapest option is to buy bulk. Estate sales, shopgoodwill are fun ways to find albums. You’d spend 30 bucks for 10 or so albums, and some will sure be good quality. Used record stores are the second best option. All my favorite and best sounding records cost less than $10.
There are labels I avoid and some that I trust but it might be subjective. CBS, Decca, Columbia, Atlantic, PolyGram, Jet are all decent
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Don't discount Craigslist, either. Snagged some good ones off of there.
Also had good luck on eBay for harder to find ones. Just check the sellers feedback and what he rates the album.
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grislybutter and thecarpathian are willing to buy LPs in bunches at low per issue cost and apparently are prepared to find many of such LPs to be utterly unplayable. That’s another valid approach, I guess. I once spent an entire afternoon looking at LPs in a Goodwill. Some had no inner sleeve (a very bad sign because the cardboard cover will itself damage the playing surface), many more had outright gouges in the playing surface, gross dirt, etc. I guess those guys have more patience than I but I would rather pay $5 (for mono) to $15 for a single LP that passes the eye test and contains music I know I want to hear than to pay the same amount of money for several miscellaneous LPs among which I will be lucky to find a single gem. I don’t do estate sales unless I know the guy who died to have been a fastidious collector. Nor do I do eBay unless I have confidence in the seller. Thrift stores like Goodwill.... Stay away. But that is just my opinion. We have one son who lives in Tokyo. Tokyo has superb used LP stores, and the Japanese apparently take amazing care of their LPs. Funnily also, the prices are highest on US pressed originals, compared to Japanese reissues of say Verve, Polydor, etc. Yet the Japanese reissues are often superior to the originals or at least as good. The store I go to once a year rates each LP on an A, B, C scale. Even the B-rated LPs are in superb condition. I don’t even bother to inspect their A rated used LPs, because I know they will be perfect. They also dramatically devalue mono LPs, many of which I find to sound wonderful.
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I usually end up keeping 1 out of 5 those albums. I clean them, with a VPI vacuum cleaner, put them in a new sleeve, etc. But, overall, am I a slob? Yes. Do I have $30+ for an album? No.
I absolutely love to find these gems, with notes on the album, sometimes a signature, receipt from 1972. This is why I stick to vinyl, I want to listen to music made in 1972 on a medium from 1972.
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One good source for used LP’s are vintage malls, where there are multiple vendor booths under one roof. People from all over the U.S.A. have made YouTube videos showing the mall at which they have found LP’s, with wildly-varying prices. I have one ten minutes from my house that has a permanent vendor who specializes in music, and his VG+ and M- LP’s are priced for the most part between $5 and $10.
If your taste runs to 1970’s Rock, the Warner Brothers group of labels (WB, Reprise, Asylum) are some of the best for both music and sound.
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Wow. Thanks guys. So much good information to use (and I will). I am grateful. Happy Listening.
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@lewm ,
Hey, lewm.
Myself, I don’t use the buy in bulk method. I anally inspect records like a jeweler inspects a diamond. Don’t want to see the slightest evidence of a scratch. Lucky to also have a terrific record store next town over in Mystic CT. Guy named Dan has been there for 40+ years. Was a session musician for some famous bands. Cool guy. Note to self: Next time don't bring wife with me. By the time she was done grabbing stuff my bill was higher than what I paid for my tt.
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+1 for Warner Brothers LPs.
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" I anally inspect records..."
Should have worded that differently. 🤔😆
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Most of my collections are from Mofi, Impex, Acoustic sounds reissue, Esoteric LPs from Japan , I like Venus recording as well. I buy used as well carefully at Music direct.I also don’t buy from Amazon.i like Elusive disc and Acoustic sounds as well.
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thecarp, Sorry I misconstrued your earlier post. I grew up in New Haven, and my wife is from Deep River. Although I live in MD near DC, we visit CT fairly often. Can you divulge the name of the record store in Mystic? Not that I am much of a buyer these days. With 3000 LPs, some of them inherited from the estate of a friend, I feel like I have "enough" LPs. I frequently find one that I did not know I had. Digging through my collection is almost like shopping for a new LP.
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First and foremost, like the music (or whatever) on that record. For many records, there is one version/pressing etc. particularly true for newer releases.
A technically bad recording that engages you is more enjoyable than some UHQR record of music that you don't like. I don't have a single "audiophile" recording (Mofi, AP, Craft, etc.) as none of that music is for me. Dark Side bores me to tears; I heard it in the 80s, don't have it in my collection. So the first question is: What type of music do YOU like? Only then and if there are multiple versions available can you get into the quality game.
I recently noted that The Outcast Single compilation 1978-1985 form 2023 sounds dreadful compared to my OG LP/EPs from 1982. A rare instance of noting sound quality differences in records in my collection. In other cases, say The Cure "Faith" OG vs. audiophile 180g repress: no difference.
So again, first identify the music YOU like.
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@lewm ,
Yes, it’s called Mystic Disc. Little place stuffed with albums. If you’re planning to be in that area any time let me know and I’ll give you the scoop on which restaurants are the best, especially if you like oysters. Love Deep River! That whole area is gorgeous. Planning on making reservations on the Essex Steam Train for their Fall Dinner Excursion. Gotta get those tickets early. Funny, I was just up Rt.9 a couple days ago. I grew up in Preston.
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I'm not sure anyone has mentioned Goldmine rating scale for used records. This is important to know IMO.Learn it and you will know how much snap crackle & pop will be in those grooves. You can do this just by looking at the album. A good dealer/seller will grade the record properly. Unfortunately, the vinyl resurgence has brought a lot of people into the sales end who know little or noting about Goldmine. Their description says something like, "looks great" or "no skips". Some will offer a play graded album with their cheap blunt stylus TT which they will say sounds good. And it may ...to them. But a properly maintained and setup TT will show the flaws.The truth is you'd better stay away from those people.
I don't buy many today because I bought most of mine in the early 2000's. But I wouldn't buy/play anything less than a VG+.
Goldmine
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Goldmine is fine as a guide to estimating condition, but some of the $ values they place on some LPs strike me as ridiculous (too high). That gives sellers the cache' to ask high prices using Goldmine as a reference.
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@lewm Don't you know that all records are very valuable now?
Seriously I agree on value. I'm not sure I have ever used their value as a guide. But their grading scale is very good. Of all the used albums I bought back in the early 2000's, I made one bad purchase. The records had been well cared for and looked VG+-NM. I then learned about groove damage and how it sometimes goes unseen. I think I even payed $3-$4 apiece for them. That was expensive back then. I'm so glad I got back into vinyl early on before the resurgence.
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thankfully we learned that I am the only slob here, still - I am not sure I would touch thecarpathian's anally inspected items
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My dad was a proctologist, so I'm cool with it.
Every year I attend the Capitol Audio Fest, and I usually buy 8-10 LPs from my favorite vendor, at prices up to $20 but usually about $10 each. However, the experience gives me the chance to see what is being asked for some LPs I already own. It gives me the (false) impression that my 3000 LPs must be worth $15-20K, at least. Even that amount would average out to only $5-6 per. I am realistic enough to know that no one is ever going to pay that much.
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I have had great experiences with Discogs. A handful of albums were bad and sellers refunded $$ without even asking for the album back. Tracking Angle is a great source for classical if you like classical. LOTS of great reissues from Mofi, Analogue Productions, Speakers Corner, as others have said. I have also found good albums on eBay, but you have to check the seller. At some time, you will need to invest in a record cleaning machine. I have an ultrasonic one from Cleaner Vinyl that is about 10 years old. Still works fine. There are many record cleaners out there, and that would be a whole different thread :-) Enjoy the journey.
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Glad I could be the butt of your jokes...
Say lewm, think I could borrow that record cleaner..?
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He was known in New Haven as the "Rear Admiral". True.
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No need to bring up my alone time!
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@OP - Invest in an ultrasonic record cleaning machine. Use streaming to identify recordings you like and then go tracking down the vinyl. I have heard vinyl recordings that don't sound good on CD but not vice versa. There are differences between different pressings of the same album depending on how old the stampers were and, also, sometimes different plants got different generations of the master. However, chasing specific matrix numbers is probably further along the spectrum of anality than your are at at the moment if starting to build a library.
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yoyoyaya I have been looking at those ultrasonic cleaners. It seems that even brand new record albums have plenty of dirt and debris on them.
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I search BandCamp at least once a week (good for files and streaming, too). I use Discogs quite a bit, and keep some of the collection catalogued there. Discogs uses the Gold Mine rating system. I have 2 used record stores near me, and stop at both every time I'm in town. I probably am buying 80% through BandCamp, Discogs, Music Direct, and etc. I used to buy through subscriptions, like R. Stevie Moore's catalogue, and some of the artists I am interested in only release on cassette, files or CDr. I follow the music, some of the media is not up to Audiophile snuff. It is somewhat common to end up with variations (pressing plants and other variables) of the same record. It's like collecting stamps or coins, you're going to have some "place holders".
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I would encourage you to create an account in Discogs (free), and even use it to catalogue the albums you have. Most albums have multiple releases, and sorting through all the releases to find the one you have is an educational experience. I learned about the information in the run out groove and how to decipher it. That helped me figure out which pressings may be better than others of the same album. It also tracks the value of your collection (based on past Discogs sales), and you can set up a “wishlist “ of albums you’re looking for. Their marketplace is also very good and very vast.
Goldmine is an excellent grading system, but remember, its use is based on the honor system and interpretation/judgement/assessment of the person grading the record.
Best of luck and welcome to the wonderful world of vinyl!!
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@yoyoyaya - actually you hit on a a key point here and one I think is actually a very important part of the OP’s question.
I too am starting a analog journey and learning the trials and tribulations already from the onset. From my very limited experience thus far, it takes A LOT of work to get this right WRT to table, arm, cart, RCM and finally the actually record version - if you want to get the best out of it - this of course is subjective.
Figuring out what pressing out of the "200 versions" (using discogs) of an album is really daunting (and where I am struggling) and only someone familiar with how to interpret the dead wax numbers, years, labels, reissues etc...it goes on and on. I don’t know if there is a guide or if this can actually be "taught" short of experience, but provenance is key and knowing what to look for. One can reference the DR website as a resource, but many times the people submitting their values don’t even supply the %#$$ cat # or anything, but I digress and that’s a diff topic.
All that said, I understand just as with any other medium everyone goes about this at different levels of "care" - some could care less about versions and just get whatever is convenient and others will research to try and find the best SQ version of digital, analog pressing etc..no right or wrong method, just the way it is.
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