You bet, there are some awesome second-hand bargains to be had!
Sadly though, the golden days of $1, $2 and 5 records from the smoky second-hand record store in North Perth are long gone. Yes, you’ll still find $1 Engelbert Humperdinck records, but you’ll come across all sorts of other bargains second hand. Some will be relatively new releases, on heavy vinyl, from the record and hi-fi stores, and online sellers. Others will be older, lightweight pressings, but don’t let that put you off. Some of the best records I own are 120-gram pressings from the last 50 years.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking remasters are the only or best way to go either. Early pressings, from close to the original album release date, when all the copies in the analog chain were freshest, are often the most sought-after and best sounding of all.
What you want to do is check second-hand records carefully for scratches, flatness and clean them in most cases. Warped records can be flattened. Dirty records can be cleaned. How should you clean them? That’s the topic of another question..!
