The Lifespan of an LP?

Still have the first album I ever bought. I think it was in '69 or '70, has definitely lost some of its fidelity but I still enjoy listening to it.

These are all great stories. Thanks for sharing your experiences! I never thought records could endure like this. I always thought over the years, regardless how wel maintained they were, something would be lost. This discussion has prompted another question for me but I save it for a separate topic. 

I just purchased an LP from 1959 Porgy and Bess ( Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte) as it was recommended to me by my good friend Steve Guttenberg and it’s phenomenal. 62 year old used vinyl in stereophonic sound and it sounds like these two two brilliant singers are in my living room. Literally once you hear this, you will understand why digital is meaningless. 

I have many LP's I bought from 1964 onwards, 57 years, still sound great.
If you pay attention to cleaning and if your tonearm and cartridge is set up good they should not wear.
I am not guessing about this, it is my experience. In fact as I upgrade they are sounding better than when I first bought.

i've heard examples of records that sounded trashed even played with a line contact, but on an ELP, with the tracking laser point carefully dialed in, it was often possible to find a spot with less wear than the rest of the groove, and the record's audible grade improved to VG or better. for those here rich enough to get an ELP, as finicky and impractical as they are, i have not heard any better reproduction of trashed records than on that miracle machine. just make sure the record is lab-grade clean before you put it on, or you and your tweeters will be sorry.