How Much Surface Noise is Too Much?

"Forgot to add: the clean looking LPs with the dreaded constant surface noise (cleaning often will not fix) are trash. please destroy them if they are not a rarity."

Please do not do this! You may later find that you cleaning method was not sufficient and trashed many otherwise good (and irreplacebale) albums.

Elizabeth, I agree that the most annoying ones are the clean looking ones with constant noise, even after cleaning. Is there any way one can tell by looking at the grooves in sunlight whether this will be the case before buying?

Play the record.

If you enjoy the music and groove, good.
If you hear the surface noise and you don't groove, you have a bad record.

I have a new, used Neil Young album with some pretty healthy ticks. They do not get in the way of the music.
That is a good record.

My turntable is almost as quiet as my CD player...if occasional scratches ...pops, tick's, etc. are discounted.

"How Much Surface Noise is Too Much?"

Isn't that a Jeff Foxworthy routine? Heheh.

I don't know which stores you are shopping at but where I live all the stores give some type of guarantee for defective new records. Usually this involves exchanging it for another copy. I took an LP back to one store this week and swapped it for the CD as the pressing was just unlistenable. As for used vinyl, most stores will give you at least an in-store credit.

I agree with Tvad, that you probably won't be getting a refund on a used record. I am sure the record store's response will be, "Hey, why didn't you inspect it before you bought it?".

(Even getting a refund on a brand new sealed record is no sure thing anymore. I've had more than one record store balk at refunding me money on obviously damaged vinyl.)

Good Luck!

I'm surmising that styli/cartridges are pretty tough versus most run-of-the-mill record surface issues from an old brochure on the Linn LP-12 I remember reading ages and ages ago which said something to the effect of "even your battle scarred old discs will take on a new life...", but is there a point at which most of you reject the idea of playing a record out of fear of damaging equipment? How bad does a scratch have to be from this standpoint to relegate the LP to the rubbish bin?

When it interferes with your listening pleasure.

I'll put up with more noise if the record is a hard one to find or if the underlying sound is especially good but Tvad is right, everyone's tolerance differs. Digital sensitized many to this more I think. The longer you play vinyl, the less a little noise seems to bother.