Two copies of the same album can differ in price by five times, and the entire difference sits in a two-character grade. Grading is the shared language of record collecting, and once you can read it, listings everywhere become legible. Here is the scale, and the honest translation of each step.
The scale, decoded
Mint (M). Perfect. Unplayed, often still sealed. Almost nothing vintage is truly Mint, and a vintage Indian record described as Mint deserves a raised eyebrow.
Near Mint (NM). Looks barely played: glossy surface, no visible marks under normal light, plays silently. This is the realistic ceiling for a well-kept vintage record, and it commands the top of the price range.
Very Good Plus (VG+). The collector's sweet spot. Light signs of careful use: a few faint hairlines visible under strong light, maybe a soft crackle in quiet lead-in grooves, but the music itself plays clean. Most of the records we stock and recommend live here, because VG+ delivers ninety percent of NM sound at a fraction of the price.
Very Good (VG). Visible surface wear, audible light crackle and occasional pops, but the music always dominates the noise. A VG record of a scarce title is worth owning; a VG copy of a common title is worth negotiating.
Good (G) and below. "Good" is the most misleading word in record selling: it means significant wear, persistent surface noise, possibly a skip. Buy G records only as placeholders or for the sleeve.
Sleeves are graded separately
A record and its jacket age independently, so honest listings carry two grades, vinyl first, sleeve second. In India the gap runs wide: our humidity is far harder on cardboard than on vinyl, so a VG+ record in a VG sleeve is the standard fingerprint of a well-loved Indian pressing. Ring wear, spine fade, seam splits, and writing on the jacket all belong in the sleeve grade, not the vinyl grade.
How grades get stretched
The internet is full of "VG++", "strong VG+", and "NM-", inflation invented to nudge a price upward. The standard scale has no such steps. Other stretches to watch for:
- Grading only by looks. A record can shine and still hiss if it was played with a worn stylus. Play-grading catches what eyes cannot.
- Grading the best track. The whole side counts, including the inner grooves where wear concentrates.
- "Plays great for its age." Age is not a grade.
How we grade
Every record at Rekord Room is cleaned first, because grime hides both flaws and shine, then inspected under strong light, then play-tested. The grade on the listing is for the vinyl and the sleeve separately, and if a record has one specific flaw, a pop on track three, a repaired seam, the listing says so in plain words. We would rather under-promise: a record graded VG+ that plays NM makes a customer for life, and the reverse loses one.
The practical takeaway
Buy VG+ when you want to listen, NM when you want to collect, VG when the title is scarce. And whenever a listing shows one grade instead of two, ask which one it is. The answer to that single question tells you a great deal about the seller.
