How do you justify $125.00 for a new vinyl record

A lot of great answers above. When I read this I am reminded of a conversation I had in the early 1980s with a (since) departed friend. I was recently married and he had just completed grad school as a conductor.

My friend and I shared a love of some obscure classical music and he was urging me to purchase a couple of LPs a week at about $10 ea., although we had little spare cash available then.

So friend asks me "do you go out to eat?" Yes, but not often. "Do you spend more than $10 when you go out to eat?" Sure. "How long does the meal last?" I don't know, 45 minutes maybe. "An LP can provide up to 44 minutes of musical enjoyment that you can listen to again and again. A meal is enjoyed once and done. What's the better investment?"

I don't think we ate out once for the next couple of years. And BTW, I would probably never pay $125 for an album but I might make exception for something really rare and collectible.

There is no record out there that I know of currently that I would pay $125 for. Then again I have been at this for many years and have access to streaming services to hear a lot of things that I don’t already own. Newbie vinyl fans who are also big Dylan fans might very easily decide to take the plunge.  If the packaging is nice enough, that would help justify the cost.

Oh, for the days when I could be satisfied with any old cheap $150 record. https://better-records.com/ Curious how many Hot Stampers you guys have in your collections?

45 RPM has a sonic advantage over 33 RPM. The reason MoFi cuts at that speed is economics. Forget where read but someone said the cost for 33 RPM rights is just too expensive.

Curious how many Hot Stampers you guys have in your collections?

Zilch, Zero, Nada, None.