Vinyl ratings for audiophiles


I'm about to drop a ton if money on vinyl now that I've finally invested in a high end analog set up. I will probably replace a lot of my favorite records, but I don't want to repurchase anything if the vinyl isn't really high quality.

Are there any resources that pull together critic reviews so I can quickly determine if the quality of a particular album is high quality or an I stuck googling everything?
bgupton

Showing 1 response by notec

A nice tool to have in your quest for the holy grails of vinyl releases, and their versions can be found at Discogs

Find the first pressing (version 1) from the many that are possibly listed (there are 306 versions for Led Zeppelin "Untitled" a.k.a IV).

Note the data in the dead wax - on all sides - that's either scratched or stamped or both (also refered to as the Matrix / Runout) as well as other identifiers: Label code; catalog number etc. The more info the better to accuratly identify what you want and are buying.

Find it. Play it!

Agree with other folks that Reissues are not the best representation of music that was recorded aeons ago. If you can find an orig (it takes time and effort) this IMO is the sweetest reward.