Something that seems to have been missed in the comments above is the variability that can be seen in LP records. There are reasons for this.
One is that a stamper, being a mechanical device, wears as it is used, just like rubber tires on a car. There is going to be a difference between a record stamped early in the life of the stamper and one made toward the end. Since it costs money to make new stampers, there was always the temptation for a record pressing plant to run an existing stamper past it's useful life.
Next, in the analog world, the quality decreases every time you move one more generation away from the original master. If your LP's stamper was made from a 3rd or 4th or later copy of the master, it would sound noticeably worse than a record made from a source closer to the master.
Vinyl quality will also impact a LP's production run. There are probably other factors, such as the equipment that has been used to play a record (more wear potential), storage conditions and so on.
Unfortunately, there is no way to just look at a record and tell if it came from the first of a production cycle or the end. Even if it sounds good when played, there is no way to know if another copy might have better qualities unless you compare them back to back.
One of the dirty secrets of the vinyl world is there were a lot of poor quality records produced. So it is not surprising when one copy sounds dramatically better than another.
One is that a stamper, being a mechanical device, wears as it is used, just like rubber tires on a car. There is going to be a difference between a record stamped early in the life of the stamper and one made toward the end. Since it costs money to make new stampers, there was always the temptation for a record pressing plant to run an existing stamper past it's useful life.
Next, in the analog world, the quality decreases every time you move one more generation away from the original master. If your LP's stamper was made from a 3rd or 4th or later copy of the master, it would sound noticeably worse than a record made from a source closer to the master.
Vinyl quality will also impact a LP's production run. There are probably other factors, such as the equipment that has been used to play a record (more wear potential), storage conditions and so on.
Unfortunately, there is no way to just look at a record and tell if it came from the first of a production cycle or the end. Even if it sounds good when played, there is no way to know if another copy might have better qualities unless you compare them back to back.
One of the dirty secrets of the vinyl world is there were a lot of poor quality records produced. So it is not surprising when one copy sounds dramatically better than another.