I started to collect records 7 or 8 years ago, now we’ve got I think roughly 150pcs (I say we because it’s a passion I share with my girlfriend).
I think we use to buy something like 10-15 records/year, we’ve slowed down right now because the weight on the shelf we use to store them is too much and our house is too small to move them somewhere else, so we have to wait until next year when we move in the new apartment to start again.
I used to look for originals, UK presses, colored things, special editions etc, but right now I got to the point where the only thing that matters to me is that it sounds good.
Most of my stuff is sludge/post-metal/prog/math related, some early post-punk/new wave, and a handful of jazz and funk classics, while my girlfriend is more into collectibles, and she’s a ‘70s rock & prog head so we have early editions of The Who, Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Camel, Gentle Giant etc.
I got to compare those editions with newer ones and honestly – if the repress is decent – the difference is really thin (besides the fact that some old records are not in MINT condition, so you hear some pops here and there).
My opinion is: if you’re looking for something old and the repress sounds right (you can check Discogs and easily find opinions on everything), just buy it, and with the same money you’ll grab three records instead of one.
Gonna snag a pic of our collection tonight if I remember.
Ps. obviously this excludes the almost 100 LPS left of our last album laying in our rehearsal room