Vinyl ratings for audiophiles


I'm about to drop a ton if money on vinyl now that I've finally invested in a high end analog set up. I will probably replace a lot of my favorite records, but I don't want to repurchase anything if the vinyl isn't really high quality.

Are there any resources that pull together critic reviews so I can quickly determine if the quality of a particular album is high quality or an I stuck googling everything?
128x128bgupton
I can tell you the recent MOFI recording of KIKO by Los Lobos is killer.
The New Beck Morning Phase is also Killer.
The recent re mix of both Benefit and Aqualung by Jethro Tull will not disappoint either.
The recent 45 RPM Dave Brubeck / Take Five and Cannonball Adderley/ Somethin' Else are fantastic both sonically and musically..
I agree with some of the above mint minus on eBay and Amazon is a really good bet. Older records in good condition sound great
Musicdirect and elusivedisc has great info and remark on new vinyl. I always find it usefull.
The new MoFi release of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman is one of the best sounding recordings I've bought recently and may be one of the best I have period.
A nice tool to have in your quest for the holy grails of vinyl releases, and their versions can be found at Discogs

Find the first pressing (version 1) from the many that are possibly listed (there are 306 versions for Led Zeppelin "Untitled" a.k.a IV).

Note the data in the dead wax - on all sides - that's either scratched or stamped or both (also refered to as the Matrix / Runout) as well as other identifiers: Label code; catalog number etc. The more info the better to accuratly identify what you want and are buying.

Find it. Play it!

Agree with other folks that Reissues are not the best representation of music that was recorded aeons ago. If you can find an orig (it takes time and effort) this IMO is the sweetest reward.