As I posted earlier my vinyl collection dates back to the 1950's. That being said, I've been very careful with my records since the very beginning. There are a couple principles that have guided me. First, not a single album has ever been played on any equipment other than my own. Selfish? OK I plead guilty to that. Second, I've made a dedicated effort to keep the records clean. With the advent of record cleaning equipment, it is much easier today than let's say, 30 years ago.
To address the points made by Lugnut and Elartford, there is surface noise in all vinyl. That comes with the territory. However all vinyl is not created equal. I have some spectacularly quiet vinyl from the 1960's and some noisy vinyl from the 1990's. In closing I don't find normal surface noise in any way, shape, or form detrimental to the listening experience. Actually I get a kick out of hearing "Another Side of Bob Dylan" (this is an entirely acoustic album BTW) sound so sweet with minimal surface noise after 40 years. All of course IMO.
To address the points made by Lugnut and Elartford, there is surface noise in all vinyl. That comes with the territory. However all vinyl is not created equal. I have some spectacularly quiet vinyl from the 1960's and some noisy vinyl from the 1990's. In closing I don't find normal surface noise in any way, shape, or form detrimental to the listening experience. Actually I get a kick out of hearing "Another Side of Bob Dylan" (this is an entirely acoustic album BTW) sound so sweet with minimal surface noise after 40 years. All of course IMO.