Vinyl Buying 101

mgp

mgp

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What do you all do when buying older albums that are widely released and have been reissued multiple? For example, yesterday I was looking at Neil Young - After The Gold Rush on discogs, and the sheer number of different LPs paralyzed me.

I'm not saying I need the definitive pressing or that there even is one, but how do even you go about narrowing the options?? I assume some pressing houses or labels are generally best avoided?

Thanks for any tips!
 
There are a lot of knowledgable folks on here about those issues. In general, try to find pressings that are mastered or remastered from the original analogue tapes, and not just digitally remastered. Discogs is a good source of info for this. Just because you see a flashy "180 gram" hype sticker means nothing but they used heavy vinyl, which is not always necessary. Popular mastering gurus are guys like Kevin Gray, Bernie Grundman, Steven Wilson. They are all well respected. Good pressing plants include RTI, Pallas, and a few others I can't recall right now, but I'm sure someone else will chime in. Rainbo (now closed) and Gz are typically hit and miss. Also, don't overthink it. If you like the way it sounds don't worry about what others might say. Good luck!
 
I usually read reviews on forums (like this one, Steve Hoffman, Vinyl Collective, reddit, discogs) and look for a pressing that sounds good and is affordable. Condition is typically my first priority (and price) for used records. Buy a clean copy at an affordable price and just enjoy it. If you fall in love, keep digging for that "affordable" premier copy. I can't stand listening to surface noise.

Hell yeah, I'd love a mono 1958 OG copy of Sonny Clark's "Cool Struttin" on Blue Note Records. But, I don't have $500 for a VG+ copy. So I'm stuck with a mint $12 pressing from Amazon. Gonna hit my numbers on the Powerball soon. Then I'll be rolling in first pressings. Rudy Van Gelder for daaaaaaaaaayyyyzzzz!
 
mgp said:
What do you all do when buying older albums that are widely released and have been reissued multiple? For example, yesterday I was looking at Neil Young - After The Gold Rush on discogs, and the sheer number of different LPs paralyzed me.

I'm not saying I need the definitive pressing or that there even is one, but how do even you go about narrowing the options?? I assume some pressing houses or labels are generally best avoided?

Thanks for any tips!
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Unless there aren't crazy differences, I am usually searching through all vinyl, then by condition (usually VG+ or better) and then price and then feedback. Once I've found a general price range that it settles in for quality I am looking for, then I can research if there are variances between a few different types. Usually I am not picky enough to do much else than that. Sometimes, there are notes on the release page at the bottom where people will comment on a particular pressing. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the responses, guys/gals. It's in my nature to overthink these things, so naturally I am. Which is why, for records like this anyway, I'm probably better off at the local shop than laboring over Discogs.
 
Depending who/what you are looking at buying, there are reissue labels to avoid like Plain and 4 Men With Beards. They are not bad but often use digital sources (cd) for their reissues. Like I said not bad, but usually for a few bucks more you can get a better pressing.
 
mgp said:
Thanks for the responses, guys/gals. It's in my nature to overthink these things, so naturally I am. Which is why, for records like this anyway, I'm probably better off at the local shop than laboring over Discogs.
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I was going to say - my advice would be something like: try to find in your local, prefer good condition OGs where possible over modern reissues (with some exceptions), and most of all have fun and buy stuff you really want, not FOMO things.
 
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