Don't give up on vinyl so fast. If you can, play the album in question on another TT, maybe one that dwarfs yours in price (I don't know what you have) and see. Maybe that diamond is not getting far in there, or maybe it is not aligned. I assume this is not the issue, but it would be interesting to hear. I still bet it is a bad pressing with mold release fluid dried in the grooves.
In the end it would not hurt to have the old VPI 16.5 RCM on hand. Might be worth thinking about.
In the end it would not hurt to have the old VPI 16.5 RCM on hand. Might be worth thinking about.