Buying new vinyl?

If you like classic rock, punk rock, new wave, etc..70s-early 80s were a great era for vinyl...for the most part...plentiful and cheap...I'm not a big new or reissue guy...but for those that don't reside in a major city and rely on mail order, or for those that simply want a new product, some great options...Sundazed, mofi, etc.

Buy old pressings. There is a sweet spot before too much electronic gimmickry in the studio (and in the instruments themselves unless you are listening to electronic music) created an unnatural glaze. Many of these older pressings sound far more visceral than the "audiophile" re-do's. You have to do your due diligence but the cost of your time and effort will be rewarded and many of these records can be had cheaply if you know what to look for and have the ability to effectively clean the records.

PS: a lot of the audiophile remasters -not all- sound brighter and less of a piece than the original pressings. Whether that is a function of modern taste, the desire for more "detail" at the expense of cohesiveness or compensation for tape aging or other source-related issues, I don't know. But don't assume a fancy recut betters a prosaic original or early press.

Whart's hit the point which is true in most cases.
New audiophile re-s sound thin.

Fwiw...I was impressed with Amoeba records in Frisco...vast selection new/used, fair pricing, etc...believe they do mail order as well. Good luck!