I've been going back through all these records I've amassed, mostly those bought in the 70s and 80s, giving them the Humminguru love and rediscovering a lot of absolutely wonderful music I haven't played in a while.
This exercise has brought a ton of happiness and more than a little sadness.
The happy: the vast majority of these records - pedestrian domestic pressings, thin as a crepe, nothing 'audiophile' about them - sound absolutely spectacular. They're quiet, dynamic and a joy to listen to. Even most of those that appear to have some visual defects play beautifully with no noise. Quality products that were offered at a great price because the most important thing back then was the music and delivering it in high fidelity at a fair price.
The sad: lots of 180G Audiophile records I've bought over the last decade at inflated prices don't sound as good. They're real purty, hefty little things, might have a #, a color variation or some special package. I'll opt for good ol' basic black when it's available, but more times than not it's never an option. You gotta pony up for the pageantry just to get the music. Many pressings look totally spotless to the naked eye buy play with noise you can't get rid of no matter how many times you clean them. The exception seems to be the jazz and blues genres - they focus more on the music than the extras. At the same time, I guess these labels really understand their market is more about the content than the limited this and variant that. I applaud them for focusing on the music and not going for the cash grab.
I may be old and jaded (actually I am old and jaded) but I miss the days when you could often buy a sonically superior product for 20% of what you pay now.
Here's one of those I cleaned that just sparkles - a 1977 pressing that was available in every store everywhere that sold records...
Jackson Browne - The Pretender
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