Steely Dan UHQR

@larsman I am thrilled that vinyl seems to have made it all the way back to the point that the vultures are back in play as well. I should start being more patient as you stated as the hobby still has some warts.

I too have made purchases on new albums only to find issues with them once opened (and un-returnable). A Toto album was warped (how does that happen?), and a Steve Miller album had a skip (no discernable scratch but I have to get up and move it past the skip to continue with the song), so risks abound even for reasonably priced releases. My guess is that there are new players in vinyl creation and most have little time or respect for quality control. 

As Gerry Rafferty sings, "Can I have my money back, money back, money back? Can I have my money back please sir!?"

Good listening64, most of my Japanese vynil collections are 99% good. Because they value quality. My Venus box 10 record no problem. Most of high end record I bought from ED and AS were good. You have to be more careful in buying.

@goodlistening64 - That's why I buy my new vinyl, if I can get the title I want through them, from Amazon. Returns are never a problem; I had to return my 'Who's Next' box set because there was so much surface noise on one side; I had a new one from them before I even sent back the first one, and the new one was fine. Unfortunately, I don't think I can get these 45rpm ones from Amazon.

I might also add that most of my 'legacy vinyl' from the 70's, even though the LPs themselves are a lot thinner than today's 180g ones, I find that they often (not always, of course) have less surface noise than new ones I get.

The only audiophile records I see on Amazon are from Speakers Corner and they are spotty at best. Mofi (Music Direct) and Acoustic Sounds don't sell to them, probably because they discount and are big competition to them.

Both Aja and Gaucho UHQR are not from original analog masters. They are lost. My MOFI Aja is from the Original Analog Master.