Picture Discs

Maybe frame it and display it as an interesting visual?

There is.

It sounded like there was a big sticker covering the grooves.

First you ask:

nicholsr

Is this normal for picture discs?

Then you state:

I have many colored discs that sound perfectly fine.

So you already have your answer.

IME, picture discs and colored discs are novelties. The few I've tried sounded awful.

Colored vinyl is not just a 'novelty' like picture discs are. Vinyl is clear to begin with, so black vinyl is colored vinyl, too, and colored vinyl does not sound inferior to clear just because it's colored. I don't like non-black colored vinyl, but that's another issue. Picture discs are a completely different process; some sound OK, some do not; apparently the ones today are a lot better than the ones from the 70's. Especially for RSD releases, I don't think they're intended to be somebody's only copy of a title that they own unless they just want to display it. 

Cleeds knows there's a huge difference in picture discs and colored vinyl.  Thanks, Larsman, for pointing this out. There just can't be a thread on here without some knowitallphile chiming in with "you've answered your own question".