Brazilcult.com - How we grade Vinyl Records

books, and all used products
(All items are graded visually)

Special note about Brazilian vinyl quality
In spite of Brazilian vinyl records being more fragile (usually, the jacket is made of very thin cardboard) and people here, in general, tend to not be particularly careful in terms of maintaining vinyl records and its jackets, we have used the following guide to classify our vinyl records and other used items placed on sale:

MINT (e SEALED) - MINT means perfect. It looks like it has never been played. Vinyl should retain its original luster. It could be sealed in its original shrink-wrap or cellophane. Record should have no scuffs, flaws, blotches, stains, certainly NO SCRATCHES, no buffs, no marks of any kind. This condition of conservation is very hard to find in Brazilian records.

WARNING: A SEALED album couldn’t always reflect that it is on MINT condition. It could have inside moulds, breaks and other not visible damages, UNLESS it will be opened. We remember when a friend bought a John Lennon’s “Live Peace in Toronto” SEALED with the rare 1972 calendar. When he opened it he were very surprised with the damage due the contact of the calendar’s metal spiral with the grooves of the record. So not always a SEALED album means a MINT album!

NEAR MINT (NM or M-) — we define NEAR MINT as being almost MINT. Very clean with just a few light marks; Vinyl has only 1 or 2 minor surface flaws that do NOT affect playing. It will probably play without any noise.

EXCELLENT (or VERY GOOD PLUS) (EX or VG++) — An EXCELLENT record will show some signals that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. It could have light marks and/or few superficial scuffs and/or light scratches. It will give an enjoyable listening with possible light intermittent surface noise. They should sound as good as or better than they look.

VERY GOOD (VG) — Many of the defects found in an EXCELLENT record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. It could have marks and/or scuffs and/or scratches. More and more surface scuffs and scratches, and audible sound defects WILL be heard. It will be still an enjoyable listening but with some surface noise.

GOOD (G) — GOOD means GOOD, not BAD! A GOOD record is a joy to own and wonderful to hear. A good record will look very well played. It will have distracting surface noise, such as crackle that is continuous or some hiss. Will also have some loss of dynamics caused from grooves being worn. It should play without any skips or any obtrusively loud pops or repeated clicks caused by deep scratches. It might not look very pretty, and may be noisy.

REGULAR (R) — It plays, no skipping, but with lots of crackles and continuous hiss surface. It is being offered in this condition because it is rare. Attention: This grade is classified by many dealers as GOOD.

FAIR (F) or POOR (P) — The easiest way to define this is if it does not meet the lowest grade above (Regular), it is trash. It is worthless. The record could be cracked, badly warped and won’t play through without skipping or repeating. We can't believe that we are selling it.

MINT (M) — MINT means perfect and nothing else! It looks like it has never been handled. Cover has no split seams, tears, writing, dents, wrinkles, no flaws or blemishes of any kind. Neither should it exhibit signs of time aging. Cover and inserts should have bright and vibrant colors.

NEAR MINT (NM) — The cover should look as close to perfect with only minor signs of wear and/or age. The artwork should be as close to perfect as can be. Very sharp corners with no impacts or bends, like new; Cover shows SLIGHT wear or age.

EXCELLENT (or VERY GOOD PLUS) (EX or VG++) — The jacket could have small writing and/or a small split seam and/or a small bent corner and/or light shelf wear and/or a small tear, and/or light ring wear.

VERY GOOD (VG) — Still it should be decent. VG covers will look worn, used. It could have writing and/or split seams and/or corner wear and/or shelf wear and/or tears and/or ring wear.

GOOD (G) — GOOD means GOOD, not BAD! A GOOD record jacket is a joy to own. It will have seam splits (possibly taped and repaired, but only with scotch tape. No duct tape or masking tape repairs). May have magic marker writing on the cover and may have large letters.

REGULAR (R) — The cover could have cuts and/or holes and/or missing parts and/or masking tape on the edges and/or strong ring wear. It is being offered in this way because it is rare. Attention: This grade is classified for many dealers as GOOD.

FAIR (F), POOR (P) — The easiest way to define this is if it does not meet the lowest grade above (Regular), it is trash. It is worthless. Cover is considerably damaged, faded, scratched, torn, spilt at seams. Maybe this LP Jacket barely keeps the LP inside it. It could be without front cover or back cover or without both. We can't believe that we are selling it.