Tom,
I certainly wasn't offended and I doubt anyone else was. I think eveyone finds their own way and does what works for them. Different folks will have varying experiences with this stuff and reach different conclusions. I'm not a collector -- I'm a music lover. But most people would take one look in my basement and say "You're a collector." I say not so fast. If I have a large record/CD/tape collection then it is my love and passion for music that brought me to it. I don't buy anything just to have it in my possession.
I think music lovers are torn between two worlds and neither of them are ideal. Vinyl is a deeply flawed medium (prone to manufacturer defects and user damage) that historically has contained near-perfect recordings. On the other hand, digital provides a near perfect medium that has been used to store poor recordings (or good recordings with bad mixing and mastering). My own experience suggests that vinyl peaked in about 1960. In my view every record pressed after 1974 up until 1980 is of mediocre quality, and records pressed after 1980 and up to vinyl's comeback is worthless junk. Even some audiohphile pressings on heavy vinyl have quality control problems - Classic Records was notorious for them.
So, having said all of that my thing is that I want my recordings in the best sound available. So I will prefer, for example, an original 1960 pressing on heavy vinyl of a given recording over a 1976 reissue that was pressed on wafer thin vinyl. I am extremely sensitive to vinyl defects. I can live with a stray light pop or occasional crackle, but I have no tolerance whatsoever for a scratch that produces a loud recurring pop every time the stylus passes over it as the record spins. That's a deal breaker for me.
As much as I would prefer to have original vinyl pressings of everything, due to cost and availability this just isn't possible. This is where reissues fill a void. I tend to favor audiophile reissues remastered by engineers I am familiar with and trust such as Steve Hoffman, Bernie Grundman, Doug Sax, and a few others. Sometimes there is no audiophile vinyl reissue, and all you can find is a catalogue reissue (lots of these are out there from Original Jazz Classics, for example). They certainly sound good enough to listen to and enjoy. My approach to music is that I would rather have it on CD then not at all if no better sounding recording is available on vintage vinyl. The music comes first for me, but once I am committed to the music then I do make the effort to locate the best possible recording that I can find at a price I am willing to pay.
--Jerome
