What do I look for in used records?

OK, sorry to dredge up an old thread; but I have a few more questions in regards to labels.

What is the consensus on Nonesuch? Odyssey?

Do phrases like London's "ffrr - Full Frequency Range Recording" and Columbia's "360 Sound" mean anything or is that just marketing nonsense?

I have come across quite a few shaded dogs; but unlike Elizabeth's, mine are all mono. Did RCA switch to the unshaded dog shortly after the advent of stereo? (Not that I'm forgoing the mono ones - I recently snagged a shaded dog box set of all 9 Beethoven symphonies, LM-6901, in great shape).

Are British imports considered any better than US pressings?

What about Japanese? A more unusual find for me has been a Deutsche Grammophone manufactured by Nippon Grammophon which states "A reminder of your visit to the German pavilion at the Osaka World's Fair in the bicentenary year of Beethoven's birth, 1970". Wasn’t my visit, but I’ll still enjoy the record anyway.

Thanks for the help!

The marketing slogans reflected certain technical features, although the marketing aspect was probably most important.

For example: "Dynagroove" (RCA) meant that the signal had been processed so as to compensate for compliance of the vinyl.

Look to see that they have a little hole in the middle.

Hey Elizabeth, they have bar codes on record jackets?

I'll buy anything I see on Everest and Nonesuch

I love the Nonesuch stuff - kind of an "artsy" label, often with recordings of, uh, less-widely sold music - Japanese zither, Scott Joplins' Rags, "The Play of Herod," "Swedish Court Music of the 16th Century," you get the idea - and are usually (in my experience) very well-recorded and packaged, and the vinyl is usually pretty nice

Everest also had similar marketing strategies, and also produced high-quality LPs - the covers (like contemporary Deccas) are often bizarre/cool/retro-cool - take your pick