I tend toward original pressings --whatever that means re country, place of mastering, pressing, etc, at least as a reference point. But, some of these are extremely pricey, 4 figures sometimes. A good remaster serves a purpose. If you listen to pop, sometimes these can actually improve on the "original." RLJ's Pirates was an early digital recording on vinyl- it is an ear bleeder. The MoFi makes it tolerable. A friend asked me about an ORG Blood Sweat and Tears- I compared with an original US Columbia 2 eye and the ORG was richer and less strident. Some records, like the original Vertigos, or more obscure prog- the reissues generally suck, but the originals are nutty money. So, you either bite that bullet or go searching. And a lot of these records are hard to find in a really high quality state of play. I get lucky or break even on quality v condition most of the time, but there is a place for remasters. The issue then becomes which one. And sometimes the original record is just not a great recording. That's where I'll have a lot of copies- each has strengths and weaknesses--and typically, these are older pressings made at different times, not always current remasters.
