How we grade our vinyls

MINT (M)

Absolutely perfect in every way. Certainly never been played, possibly even still sealed.

 

NEAR MINT (NM)

A nearly perfect record that should show no obvious signs of wear.

A 45 RMP or EP sleeve should have no more than the most minor defects, such as almost invisible ring wear or other signs of slight handling. An LP cover should have no creases, folds, seam splits or other noticeable similar defects. No cut-out holes, either. And of course, the same should be true of any other inserts, such as posters, lyric sleeves and the like. Basically, an LP in NM condition looks as if you just got it home from a new record store and removed the shrink wrap.

 

VERY GOOD PLUS (VG+)  

A VG+ record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. Record surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don’t affect one’s listening experiences. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are “OK”. The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. The center hole will not have been misshapen by repeated play.

Picture sleeves and LP inner sleeves will have some slight wear, lightly turned up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP cover may have slight signs of wear also and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount. In general, if not a couple things wrong with it, this would be NM.

 

VERY GOOD (VG)

Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and fade, but will not overpower the music otherwise. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as with light scratches (deep enough to feel with a fingernail) that will affect the sound.

Labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, only two or three of them.

 

GOOD PLUS (G+), GOOD (G)

G does not mean Bad! A record in G+ or G condition can be put onto a turntable and will play through without skipping. But it will have significant surface noise and scratches and visible groove wear (on a styrene record, the groove will be starting to turn white).

A cover or sleeve will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the object.

 

FAIR (F), POOR (P)

The record is cracked, badly warped and won’t play through without skipping or repeating.

The picture sleeve is water damaged, split on all three seams and heavily marred by wear and writing. The LP cover barely keeps the LP inside it. Inner sleeves are fully seam split, crinkled and written upon.

 

GENERIC (Gen)

 The term “generic” refers to a type of sleeve that is not specific to the release. A Generic sleeve is either a plain sleeve or a company sleeve with standard company artwork.

 

You can listen to audio examples below: