Vinyl grading explained: M, NM, VG+, VG, G
Updated August 2026 · 8 min read
Grading is the language dealers use to describe wear, and it moves price more than anything except which pressing you have. The scale below is the Goldmine standard, which Discogs also uses.
- Eight designations — M, NM, VG+, VG, G+, G, F, P — of which six get real use. Mint is for unplayed copies and should be rare.
- Rule of thumb on price: VG+ is worth about half of Near Mint, VG about a quarter.
- Record and sleeve get their own grade. Written VG+/VG, the record comes first.
- Most records that come out of a family collection are VG. That is normal, not a defect.
The grades, top to bottom
Goldmine defines eight designations — M, NM (also written M−), VG+, VG, G+, G, F and P — and advises that Mint be used sparingly: it means perfect and unplayed, which for a record that has been out of its shrink-wrap is a hard claim to make. In practice listings live in the middle of the scale.
Near Mint is the working top grade: no marks visible under a light, nothing audible between tracks. Very Good Plus is where careful collections sit, and Very Good is where most family collections sit. Below that, Good means the record plays all the way through but you hear it doing so, and Poor means it is a wall decoration. Nobody grades their own copy Poor, which is part of why the grade exists.
| Grade | What you see | What you hear | Share of NM |
|---|---|---|---|
| M | Perfect and certainly unplayed; may still be sealed | Nobody has heard it | 100%+ |
| NM / M− | No marks under a bright light | Silent between tracks | 100% |
| VG+ | A few light scuffs, no groove damage | Faint noise in quiet passages | ~50% |
| VG | Visible scuffs, light ring wear | Surface noise you notice, no skips | ~25% |
| G+ / G | Scratches you can feel, worn sleeve | Constant noise, ticks, still plays through | 10–15% |
| F / P | Cracked, warped, heavily scratched | Skips or will not track | A few percent |
Grade definitions follow the Goldmine standard; the share of Near Mint value is the convention that guide has used for decades, not a measurement of any one record.
Where most home collections land
Records that lived in a family room for forty years are usually Very Good — audible surface noise between tracks, a scuff or two, ring wear on the sleeve. That is not a defect in the copy, it is the normal condition of a used record, and it is what the VG column of every price guide is built for.
Never grade a record you haven’t taken out of the sleeve. Seam splits and warps do not show through cardboard, and both cost more than a scratch.
What each grade does to price
Grades are not a description of taste, they are a multiplier. Take a pressing that sells for $50 in Near Mint: the same record is roughly $25 in VG+, $12 in VG and under $8 once it reaches Good. The percentages hold across cheap records and expensive ones, but the dollars they hide are very different — one grade on a $20 record is a coffee, one grade on a $2,000 record is a month of rent.
That is also why the scale gets abused most at the top. The step from VG+ to Near Mint is the single most valuable step on the chart, and it is the one that costs nothing to claim.
The defects, and which ones you hear
Half of grading is knowing which marks matter. A record covered in scuffs can play silently; a single scratch you can feel will click on every rotation for the rest of its life.
- 1Outer edge and lead-in groove
- 2Playing surface — where wear shows up
- 3Run-out, or dead wax: the etched matrix number
- 4Label — country, year, catalog number
| Defect | What it looks like | Audible? | Effect on grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scuff | Dull grey patch from sleeve friction | Usually silent | Small |
| Hairline mark | Catches the light, cannot be felt | Usually silent | Small |
| Scratch | You can feel it with a fingernail | Clicks once per rotation | One or two grades |
| Groove wear | Grey, matte grooves from a worn stylus | Distortion on loud passages | Heavy — cannot be cleaned out |
| Warp | The record rocks on a flat surface | Wow, or the arm lifts | Heavy if it affects tracking |
| Spindle marks | Scratches in a circle around the hole | Silent | Cosmetic, but signals heavy use |
| Ring wear | The record's outline showing through the sleeve | Sleeve only | Sleeve grade only |
| Seam split | The sleeve opening along an edge | Sleeve only | Sleeve grade, and it gets worse |
Groove wear is the one worth learning to spot. It is invisible to anyone who has not seen it before — the grooves simply look grey rather than black — and unlike dust or a scuff, nothing you do afterwards brings it back. A record with groove wear is a VG record wearing an NM cover.
Sleeve and record are graded separately
A listing that reads VG+/VG is telling you two things: the vinyl is VG+, the sleeve is VG. The record grade always comes first. A beautiful sleeve does not lift a worn record, and a clean record in a split sleeve still sells — for less.
What sleeve buyers actually price: ring wear, seam splits, cut-out holes and writing on the cover. Of those, a seam split moves the number most, because it keeps getting worse every time the record goes in and out. On gatefolds, check the hinge — a gatefold that has started to separate is a repair job, not a blemish.
- 1Ring wear — the record's outline pressed through the card
- 2Seam split along the edge; it only gets worse
- 3Corner wear and creases
- 4Cut-out hole, drilled through deleted stock
- 5Writing, price stickers and the scars they leave
How to grade your own copy
In this order, in daylight or under a single bright bulb — overhead room lighting hides everything. The visual pass takes a minute a record; play-grading takes as long as the record does, so do the visual pass on everything and play what you actually intend to sell.
- 1
Clean it first. A lot of what sounds like damage is dust. Grade a dirty record and you will grade it low.
- 2
Tilt it under the light. Look across the surface, not straight at it. Marks that catch the light but cannot be felt with a fingernail usually play silently.
- 3
Play both sides through. A clean side A tells you nothing about side B, and that is where the surprise usually is. Listen in the quiet passages and the run-in, not over the loud chorus. If you only played one side, say so in the listing.
- 4
Grade the sleeve on its own. Ring wear, seams, corners, writing, and whether the inner sleeve and any insert are still there.
Grade the copy as if you were buying it from someone else. The cost of grading generously is not embarrassment, it is a return and a refund.
RecordScout grades nothing for you — you decide the condition. It identifies which pressing you are holding and shows the range each grade sells for.
Open in the App StoreFree to try, iPhone, no account.The five mistakes that cost money
Every one of these shows up in returned parcels and in offers that come in lower than expected.
| Mistake | Do this instead | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Grading through the sleeve | Take the record out and tilt it under a light | Warps and seam splits stay invisible until the buyer opens it |
| Grading by the cover | Grade record and sleeve separately | A clean cover on a worn record reads as a misdescription |
| Calling anything opened Mint | Near Mint is the ceiling for an opened record | Instant credibility loss with collectors |
| Ignoring the runout | Read the etching before you price anything | A reissue priced as a first press comes back as a return |
| Grading without playing | Play both sides, or say which side you graded | Marks that look harmless can click on every rotation |
Sealed, and why Mint is rare
Mint means the record has never been played, which for practical purposes means it is still sealed — and a sealed record is the one case where nobody can grade the vinyl at all. You are buying the wrapper and the odds.
On an original pressing that premium is real; buyers pay for the unopened state itself. On a modern reissue it mostly is not, because the pressing is common and shrink-wrap is easy to fake. Reseals are widespread enough that experienced buyers check the seam and the sticker before they check the price.
A sealed copy you plan to keep sealed is an object. A sealed copy you intend to listen to is a Near Mint record with an extra step — price it that way in your own head.
Common questions
What is the difference between VG+ and Near Mint?
Near Mint means nothing is visible under a bright light and nothing is audible between tracks. VG+ means a few light marks that you can see but barely hear. In money terms the gap is usually about half the price, which is why the line between them is the most argued-over point in the whole scale.
Is VG+ good enough to sell?
Yes, and it is the most common grade in listings that actually sell. Buyers expect light marks at VG+; what they do not forgive is a VG+ label on a record that crackles through the first track.
What is the difference between Goldmine and Discogs grading?
The letters are the same, because Discogs adopted the Goldmine scale. In practice Discogs sellers grade a little more generously, so a Discogs VG+ often behaves like a Goldmine VG. Read the seller's own description of the marks rather than trusting the letters alone.
Do scratches always mean noise?
No. A scratch you can feel with a fingernail across the groove will click; a hairline mark that only catches the light usually plays silently. That is why play-grading beats eyeballing, and why two records that look identical can be a grade apart.
Should I clean a record before grading it?
Yes. A lot of what sounds like damage is dust sitting in the groove. Clean first, then grade — but note that cleaning removes nothing structural: a scratch is still a scratch.
Does a sealed copy always sell for more?
A sealed original does, often by half again. A sealed reissue usually does not, because buyers assume shrink-wrap on a common pressing tells them nothing about the vinyl inside — and reseals are easy to fake.