Can a scratched record...

Albertporter...With 3500 CDs, your exposure is about ten times mine. Still I wonder about this CD skipping problem which you are not alone in reporting. The error correcting code used by CD should sail through quite prolonged data corruption (I forget the exact duration, but it would seem to be longer than any little scratch or blob of dirt). Perhaps there is something more complex than data drop out. Just a guess, but does the player (some of them) quit if the laser focus servo has a problem, regardless of the data comming in?

Tabl10s,
The best way to fix your scratched record situation is to try to buy another one off eBay and hope that is better than the copy you have now.

Highly doubtful that I could find another copy.

There is a way that works absolute wonders about 20% of the time, improves the lp substantially about 50% of the time, doesn't work at all 25%, and can cause more noise about 5%. It involves spinning the record backwards. You need the right needle, which depends on the type of record and what cutting head was used - and there is also skill/experience involved.