How We Grade And Clean Records

Letter Grade

Stands For

Vinyl Condition

Inlay Condition

Sleeve Condition

M

Mint

Perfect. Never been played, touched, or even removed from packaging.

Perfect. Never been removed from packaging.

Pristine. Still in shrink wrap.

NM-

Near Mint Minus

Perfect, except for the fact the vinyl has been removed from its sleeve at least once.

Perfect, except that it’s been touched by human hands at least once.

Pristine, but no longer sealed.

NM

Near Mint

Close to, but not quite, perfect. May have a couple nearly invisible markings. Audio is crystal clear.

Close to, but not quite, perfect. May have hard to see markings or extremely light indents.

Close to, but not quite, perfect. May have hard to see markings or extremely light indents.

VG++

Very Good Plus Plus

Brian and Elise are the only weirdos who use this because they feel there must be something between VG+ and NM

See previous box

See previous box

VG+

Very Good Plus

You can tell it used to be owned by someone else, but they took good care of it. Audio may have crackles and pops. Light scuffing and some visible scratches present.

You can tell it used to be owned by someone else, but they took good care of it. May have some small creases, indents, or other markings.

You can tell it used to be owned by someone else, but they took good care of it. Corners are less sharp. Some ringwear and expected aging visible.

VG

Very Good

This thing was loved. You can hear crackles and pops for short periods of time.

This thing was loved. It has some creases and maybe a few markings.

This thing was loved. Ring wear is visible. There may be discoloration and some markings.

G+

Good Plus

Plays without skipping. Has many crackles and pops. Lots of visible scratches.

Seams are starting to split. Tape, writing, and other defects are present.

Seams are starting to split. There may be tape, writing, or other defects present.

G

Good

Plays, but with small skips, crackles, and pops. Clearly visible scratches and scuffs.

Seams are split. There may be tears, tape, writing, and other defects.

Seams are split. There may be tears, tape, writing, and other defects.

F

Fair/Fine

Playable but has multiple visible scratches and small skips that greatly alter sound quality.

Falling apart

Can still hold the vinyl, probably. Has extensive outer damage.