Starting a Classical Vinyl Music Collection

Thanks guys!

You've all been very helpful.

I'd like some new vinyl recommendations if possible.

👍

OP,

If you got virtually no improvement with the electrostatic cleaning. Then those disks were trashed. But this does not mean you should give up on used.

I recommend going to a used record store. Each time you find an interesting disk. Carefully pull it out of the sleeve (you know how to handle disks? Right?) and carefully examine it. When the light hits at the right angle you will be able to tell if the grooves are shiny and clean or dull. Buy a couple of the best you find. They are likely to sound great. With a little practice you can pick out only perfect disks. The cleaning can remove surface dust and debris, but not embedded or worn grooves. You will learn to separate the two.

I started back up from scratch almost five years ago. The first album I bought was Led Zeppelin II, then I bought Miles Davis Kind of Blue. I'm up to about 145 albums now, all of them VG+ or better and killer pressings. I've upgraded the Zep II to a RL and the KOB to a first press mono.

Pulling an album out of the discography, looking at it, placing it on the table, etc is a huge part of the whole experience for me. 

Don't forget to buy an ultrasonic record cleaning machine, it's a must have.

@jjbeason14 My suggestion is to play a LP or two and then send them in for a cleaning treatment from a service using a reputable method.

Of the outcome is as wanted and cleaning is the way forward, have a look at the Neil Antin PAVCR Tutorial, which offers a exceptional method for Manual Cleaning and the one I now use over all other methods previously available.

I now refer to LP's undergoing this method as Purified. 

If the manual method does become the method, have the few album previously cleaned done this way as well and see if any other cleanliness is seemingly produced.    

while vinyl has unquestionably resurged, the factors that led to its decline are still present. A poor quality lp that was issued half a century ago doesn’t improve with use and ageing.

What has changed is analog equipment quality . One needs to be above entry level, but today’s gear can track and extract much better than the gear that most of us had in our youth. However the complete eradication of surface noise, especially on vintage lps, is an unrealistic goal