hopeless LP's

Ok, now a question about maintaining one's collection.

4 day weekend this weekend, so the wife and I, as a diversion, are going to start to go through our large and varied collection of LP's (garage sale, thrift store, mostly) and pare it down to records actually worth keeping.

Assuming a clean record (we have a nitty gritty) and a properly set up TT, but NOT the "finest" stylus in the world (a Sumiko Black Pearl, which has an elliptical stylus), can it be safely assumed that if a well-cleaned, de-staticized, gruv-glided, etc. record is being played and still either distorts or crackles, or sounds like someone shaved off the high frequencies, that is is, alas, a goner and should be put out for trash?

I'd hate to throw away my found vinyl (some of it very nice performances, mostly the classical stuff) only to find out later that if I had a different TT or cart set-up, in fact the gross and obvious distortion I am hearing now would not be audible.

Thanks again, as always

pcanis