Tvad's approach is a practical one. You are essentially relying on an expert to make the determination in advance for you on a title that you are interested in. That will work but will carry a cost premium of some sort which may or may not matter depending on the individual.
Groove damage is common and harder to spot reliably perhaps than other types of defects, like scratches, etc., but it can be done.
I typically buy a dozen or more used lps at a time when I find them, often for $1.00 or less. Its like picking out fruit at the market. If you are good at it, most of the time you can weed out the defective or damaged ones.
Many of these are titles I have never heard or heard of before that I am willing to try in the interest of new discoveries. Having been collecting for years, most titles that I really care about I probably already own. Inexpensive used lps are a very cost effective way to trow new waters musically, I find, especially if you are open minded to music recorded years ago, which is when vinyl was king.
I've probably acquired a couple hundred used lps over the last year this way and I would estimate less than 6 were unlistenable. 80% or more sounded very good or better (once cleaned).
Identifying good sounding lps is both an art and a science and can be very hit or miss though. But the audio rewards can be great, even if a few bad apples make it through inspection.
