Warped Records

Apparently as a result of misbehavior in a past life - I was part owner of a record store in the late 70's/early 80's.During that time period the record companies had gone from a defective return policy that allowed us to return defectives for identical replacements plus typically a 10% of sales return for credit. This allowed us to restock with better selling albums to replace stuff that wasn't selling.The record companies decided to just allow 10% returns period - to include whatever you had in defectives.The initial defective rate shot up dramatically - Record companies didn't care how many crap pressings they made - they stuck the retailers with most of 'em.One result of this is that probably half my records were returned as defective - since we had to eat 'em - I and my partners kept 'em.Got out of the records business.
So -for probably the first time in 15 years I'm in a friends store buying records - he offers me a bunch of records for free - initial defectives - now the record co.'s and importers have a zero return policy. Invoices come stamped "All sales final -no returns" . Man - now there's a real incentive for a manufacturer to become quality obsessed or just maybe - not give a damm?
2 points:
1.) Get real real picky and ya'll can convince any retailer to get the h%ll out of the record business.
2.) Based on 45 years of listening to records - they have surface flaws(ticks and pops) and warps.Equipment that deals with this reality is worthwhile - one of the reasons I use a Oracle turntable.
Oh yeah - I really ,really hate record companies.

Same problem here with new records.

The best (quietest and flattest) new records that I've purchased tend to be from better labels: e.g. the CCR Absolute Originals set, Dark Side of the Moon, Hotel California, Bob Dylan pressings from Sundazed and Germany, etc.

The worst of them seem to be pop and modern albums: all of my Radiohead stuff, U2, and UK pop. I had to exchange three copies of Abbey Road until it was acceptably warped! Yes, my current one is still slightly warped (and scratched too!).

I will be experimenting with and outer ring soon.

Diwask, you say, "I should add that the 180g and higher LPs typically have no issues, but at the current prices and labels they are coming from I would expect as much."

My experience has been, sadly, not the same. Almost all of my new records are 180g, and most of them are at least slightly warped.

Use an old TT to spin your record on, heat up your steam iron, add watter. Hold the iron horizontally over the record about 1.5-2 inches and let the steam hit the record. You might as well clean it while your at it, so get out a clean brush and use it to pick up all the junk that comes from deep within the grooves. About 25 turns should do the trick. The steam is a smaller molecule so it gets all the way in there. The heat is a by product of the steam and the combination will make your records cool completely flat and you can repeat the process without damage to the record. Use a good record pad or microfiber towelette to get the remaining condensation off. Set the record on a cool surface and watch it flatten out, it's just vinyl. This process only takes a few minutes and works on all records, I've been doing it for years. I've even put a record directly in the sun to watch it turn in to a taco looking thing. I applied the steam and guess what, it's flat again and sounds great. Better steam sources will yield a better result.

Have an open mind and give it a try. You don't need any special water, tap water is fine, just boil it first before you put it in the iron. No other cleaning method can even come close to what you can accomplish with steam. And your warps will be gone. I'm just amazed that nobody has come out with a steam machine for records.