I have a somewhat different take on the issues raised by the OP. The issue that matters to me is not ticks and pops, which I am able to ignore for the most part, but rather the quality of the sound. The key point by the OP is when he said:
"It wasn't until I popped on some old disk that I picked up used from a garage sale somewhere that I heard what vinyl was really about: it was the smoothest, most organic, and 3d sound that ever came out of my speakers."
By that measure, if you really want to duplicate that experience, then you need to stock up on LPs pressed in the 1950s through mid-1970s. Even reissues that were pressed during that time period can sound great. For some reason, the vast majority of recordings made after the mid-70s and indeed nearly all pressings made after the mid-70s, just don't have that magic. At the risk of sounding like a total curmudgeon, I almost always prefer the sound of older pressings to so-called audiophile reissues regardless of price.
If the OP really wants to hear smooth, dynamic, organic music, then he should try a mono jazz or rock LP pressed in the late 50s or early 60s, ideally with a true mono cartridge like a Miyajima mono. That can knock you over! Talk about lack of progress in half a century.
"It wasn't until I popped on some old disk that I picked up used from a garage sale somewhere that I heard what vinyl was really about: it was the smoothest, most organic, and 3d sound that ever came out of my speakers."
By that measure, if you really want to duplicate that experience, then you need to stock up on LPs pressed in the 1950s through mid-1970s. Even reissues that were pressed during that time period can sound great. For some reason, the vast majority of recordings made after the mid-70s and indeed nearly all pressings made after the mid-70s, just don't have that magic. At the risk of sounding like a total curmudgeon, I almost always prefer the sound of older pressings to so-called audiophile reissues regardless of price.
If the OP really wants to hear smooth, dynamic, organic music, then he should try a mono jazz or rock LP pressed in the late 50s or early 60s, ideally with a true mono cartridge like a Miyajima mono. That can knock you over! Talk about lack of progress in half a century.