STILL SEALED (SS)

Mint (M) Perfect in every way. Never been played, possibly even still sealed. (Very rare in vinyl)

Near Mint (NM or M-) A nearly perfect record. The record should show no obvious signs of wear.

Very Good Plus (VG+) This record has been played and handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. The vinyl surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't greatly affect one's listening experiences. The label may have some light ring wear or discoloration.

Very Good (VG) Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced for this grade.  Slight surface scratches/scuffs will be a little bit more evident upon playing, especially in quiet passages or during a song's intro and fade.  The label may show more playing wear.

Good (G), Good Plus (G+) Good does not mean Bad! A record in Good or Good+ condition can be put onto a turntable and should play through without skipping. It will have significant surface noise, scratches and visible groove wear. Labels will have heavy wear.

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JACKET GRADING:

STILL SEALED (SS) Even though a record is sealed the jacket may still have wear. This can result in a grade such as (SS VG+) (This means it is sealed but maybe it has some light ring wear from sitting for years or a very small cut in it somewhere.)

Mint (M) Perfect in every way.

Near Mint (NM or M-) A nearly perfect jacket. It should show no obvious signs of wear. The cover should have no creases, folds, seam splits or other noticeable similar defects. Definitely no cut-out holes.

Very Good Plus (VG+) Jacket will have some slight wear, lightly turned up corners, or a slight seam split. Possible a well-repaired seam split that is no longer highly noticeable. The jacket may have slight signs of ring wear, or may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount.

Very Good (VG) The jacket can have any of the defects listed in VG+. It may have a little larger seam splits then the VG+ jacket could have. The jacket may also be marred by writing, or have tape, stickers, or their residue attached. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, only two or three of them. It may have larger seam splits that are carefully repaired and nearly un-noticeable.

Good (G), Good Plus (G+) The jacket will have seam splits, especially at the bottom or on the spine. Tape, writing, ring wear or other defects will start to overwhelm the look of jacket.

Poor (P), Fair (F) The jacket can be water damaged, split on all three seams, heavily marred by wear and writing. The LP cover barely keeps the LP inside it. Inner sleeves (if original) are fully seam split, crinkled, and written upon. This could also have heavily repaired seam splits with tape.