just an observation for comment

Go to a reputable "used" record shop and get the (mostly) cheaper originals. Screw the new re-issues. I'm skeptical of their merit.

First, I am not an LP collector but listener and my goal is to find the best sounding copy of a title that I really, really like. While I agree with most of the above comments I cannot say all the reissues do not stack up to good, early pressings.

For instance, I have a pristine original copy of Alan Parson Turn of a Friendly Card that I bought in 1980 and have played on what was then a pretty good table and a Shure V15 Type III tracked at 1 gram. I kept the record safely stored all these years and it is still clean, both sonically and relatively free of annoying surface noise. Then I bought the Classic Records, 200 Gram reissue of this album and heard what excellence on vinyl truly is. Quiet as a CD but with all the warmth and dynamics that we embrace vinyl for. Same with Supetramps Crime of the Century. I have an original pressing, MOFI Original Master and both are quite good. Until I heard the Speakers Corner 180 gram reissue of this record and this is now my ultimate, go to disc for this classic album.

Of course, APP and Supertramp were always known for meticulous engineering in the first place so that helps. Now I have heard some of the Back to Black reissues that were less than desirable too. I just point the above out to not readily dismiss all reissues.

The LP collector rule of thumb is to seek the original LP from the first stampers from the country of the recording's origin. Its rare that any reissue will sound better.

This is because there is a feedback loop between the record label and the artist. That is what test pressings are all about- audition. This feedback cycle is broken when LPs are issued in other countries and of course it rarely exists when LPs are reissued (Roger Waters is allegedly working with Acoustic Sounds on an Amused to Death reissue, so in rare cases that feedback look can still be there in the better reissues).

The original LP is not always easy to find! That is when you look to the higher quality reissues, IMO. It makes a difference how important it is to you have that recording sound as good as it can.

It depends, for instance I bought a few of the Hollies and Youngbloods mono vinyls on the Sundazed label and they are AMAZING for sonic quality. My guess is these masters were not run over as often as their stereo counterparts.

I collect first pressings in several genres, and in general I prefer them to audiophile reissues, but there are exceptions. An example would be the Cisco reissue of Steely Dan Aja, which cannot be beat. Another example would be the Music Matters Blue Note reissues, which invariably blow away clean first pressings (I know because I have both).