Grading

LP Grading

Grades are COVER first... VINYL second (we're old school American that way...)

Mint: Basically means NEW, unplayed, barely touched.

NM (Near Mint): Pretty much perfect in every way. Vinyl may have been played once or twice at most.

EX+: Almost NM, but may have a few minor imperfections.

EX: Shows minor wear. It’s obviously been owned - but taken very good care of.

EX-: A bit more wear than an EX. Vinyl looks played often, but still in great shape.

VG+: Cover or record has obvious wear. Record may contain background noise depending on quality of pressing. Cover has flaws that we’ll detail.

VG and below..... Continuing along the same path as what you see above.

Sometimes we'll use additional (+) or (-) which is a half distance between the grades.

In many years of buying, selling and trading, this is definitely the hardest part of the hobby to master. Hopefully you’ll agree that we grade fairly. We try to anyway. It's all pretty nuanced, and definitely an art - not a science!

It's worth noting, especially for younger LP buyers, that original 1970s and 80s pressings can be mint - and still noisy. And flimsy too. Not all vinyl was pressed pristine, 180 gram, like they are today. This was one of many reasons why the CD took hold in the first place! So please keep that in mind before frothing on the first bit of noise and crackle. That's the real sound of vinyl! Often times, we'll do a headphone check just to ensure what we see is correct.

Once an LP arrives in our collection, they are put in plastic sleeves and treated with great care. So you are buying well preserved albums! Keep in mind that most of our LP collection was built by buying used copies (certainly the 60's/70's LPs, but many of the 80s LPs too) - but we have done everything possible to maintain the condition it was received in. We're serious record collectors and  take pride in our collections. We've been buying and selling LPs as an independent collector for over 35 years.