Thank you everyone for some great responses. And yes, the "Hatari" album I cited is a hoot. It was very used and looked terrible, which makes it even more amazing that it is so quiet.
The early posts reminded me I should have made it clear that I scrupulously clean LPs, both old and brand new pressings, before I play them. I use a VPI 16.5 and a multi-step process ending in a distilled water rinse. I've also dabbled with steam cleaning, including on the newer "noisy" records I alluded to. Nothing seems to help these duds. In fact, an unscientific test at home has lead me to believe perhaps the best way to handle new releases, contrary to the mold-release compound theorists, is NOT to clean them. In my small test cases they seem quieter if you just leave them alone. This lends some credence to the suspicion that new vinyl seems overly delicate, as one contributor suggested.
As far as quiet new vinyl examples go, I have to disagree with some saying Speakers Corner being a good source. I recently tried two copies of Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" and they were intolerably noisy. On Classic, two copies of Sarah McClachlan's "Solace" were miserable. And in response to Timztunz, the Clarity vinyl releases I've tried were hit and miss: The Armstrong/Ellington "First Time Together" was spectacular; "The Great Reunion" was like a popcorn popper was in the studio during the recording. (Most of my Music Matters releases have been good, by the way, but not all of them.)
I just don't get it--why do we have to suffer so with new releases when the technology, whatever it was, existed to make quiet pressings in days gone by? Some have provided some reasonable explanations (run rates, the rarity of truly virgin vinyl, etc.), but I continue to be astonished that after dishing out $50 a pop for some of these releases, that's all we get--pops.
The early posts reminded me I should have made it clear that I scrupulously clean LPs, both old and brand new pressings, before I play them. I use a VPI 16.5 and a multi-step process ending in a distilled water rinse. I've also dabbled with steam cleaning, including on the newer "noisy" records I alluded to. Nothing seems to help these duds. In fact, an unscientific test at home has lead me to believe perhaps the best way to handle new releases, contrary to the mold-release compound theorists, is NOT to clean them. In my small test cases they seem quieter if you just leave them alone. This lends some credence to the suspicion that new vinyl seems overly delicate, as one contributor suggested.
As far as quiet new vinyl examples go, I have to disagree with some saying Speakers Corner being a good source. I recently tried two copies of Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" and they were intolerably noisy. On Classic, two copies of Sarah McClachlan's "Solace" were miserable. And in response to Timztunz, the Clarity vinyl releases I've tried were hit and miss: The Armstrong/Ellington "First Time Together" was spectacular; "The Great Reunion" was like a popcorn popper was in the studio during the recording. (Most of my Music Matters releases have been good, by the way, but not all of them.)
I just don't get it--why do we have to suffer so with new releases when the technology, whatever it was, existed to make quiet pressings in days gone by? Some have provided some reasonable explanations (run rates, the rarity of truly virgin vinyl, etc.), but I continue to be astonished that after dishing out $50 a pop for some of these releases, that's all we get--pops.