near mint or mint minus (nm/m-) vinyl:
We define NM and or M- as being almost mint. This grade should be, for the most part, the most widely used grade for records that appear virtually flawless.

cover: The cover should look as close to perfect with only minor signs of wear and or age. Minor impressions to the cover (due to the outer edge of the vinyl resting inside) may be acceptable, however the artwork should be as close to perfect as can be.

ex (also called vg++) vinyl:
condition for vinyl will allow minor scuffs which are visible but only slightly. The wear should be minimal. Any scratches that can be felt with your fingernail can NOT be called scuffs. Scuffs lay on top of the grooves.

cover:
Artwork should still be as close to perfect as can be. Some impression to the cover (minor outer ring wear). Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. No seam splits or writing on the cover.

vg+ vinyl:
VG+ will show wear, surface scuffs,(or spiral scuffs that came from turntable platters or jukeboxes for 45s) and some very light scratches. Surface scuffs are caused from blunt (not sharp) objects. The vinyl should still have a great luster, but the flaws will be noticeable to the naked eye.

cover:
A virtually clean cover, but may have small writing on it. The artwork should look clean with slightly more aging. The back of the cover usually gives away the age of the cover. Some minor wear to the seams or spine, but no tears or holes popping through. The corners will be slightly dog eared yet no crackly bends, defacing the artwork.

vg vinyl:
A Very Good (VG) record will appear well played but still have some luster. The vinyl may be faded, slightly grayish, yet appears to have been handled as carefully as it could have been helped. More and more surface scuffs and scratches, and audible sound defects WILL be heard. They should not overpower the dynamics of the music.

cover:
VG covers will look worn, used. There may be some seam splitting. There will be some ring wear, where the ink has begun to wear off. There may be some writing on the cover. It will look aged, and more yellowish due to contaminations in the air (sometimes looking like cigarette smoke). Still it should be decent.

vg- vinyl:
It will have surface noise. may 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.

cover:
a vg- cover will have just about everything wrong with it.

g+ vinyl:
filler copy. will play without skips but looks really bad. I only use this grade for harder to find or more valuable records in rough shape.