LP Vinyl: Quality, Pressing, Label, Weight, Where to Buy ???


Getting back into LP vinyl...its been a long time = mid 70s?  Searching for an educational review on the forum for buying decent quality vinyl LPs...an overview of quality, weight, pressing, label, and best source/location to purchasing (prefer to stay away from ebay as it seems to be hit/miss on what you get). Does anyone have suggestions for an educational review on the subject? 

As a discussion point...I was looking at buying an older LP (vinyl only); I did an internet search = "Faces" - The First Step Album. Online search produces numerous results with prices from $18 to $120...older, used, remakes/repressed, various quality ratings (is there a uniform rating scale), unopened...list goes on. 

Greatly appreciate the forums experience and insight!

jmrrobbie1

Showing 1 response by big_greg

Support your local record store(s) where possible.  Some of these have already been mentioned, but here are some suggestions.

Discogs is good overall , buy from sellers with or very near 100% positive feedback.  If you get to 99.5% or less, you'll find that they over-grade, or have other common issues. 

Discogs is also a good place to get an idea of the quality of the pressing you're looking at. Users grade records and often leave comments about the quality of pressings.  Steve Hoffman forums are another good place to get information about the quality of specific pressings.

For "audiophile" and high quality pressings, Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds are great.  

Some decent places to buy online are Plaid Room Records and Pop Market.

For rare and unique records, try rarerecords.net