Just ran across this site:
https://www.better-records.com/gdept.aspx?dept_id=14-015-034
These guys stockpile, clean and play dozens of copies of all the big records and sell the ones they think sound the best for big dough-- for instance, $250 for a copy of the 2nd BS&T record, which is in the dollar bin everywhere else.
Since a record is a unique physical object, there are obviously differences from one to the nex,t. It makes sense to me that a first pressing that was made when the plates were brand new would sound cleaner, maybe. And I am sure there are differences in mastering runs, batches of materials, etc. But these guys have a tiered system with all this lingo, etc.-- sounds like there could be a high marketing wizard quotient involved here.
Folks who are into this scene swear that they can play fourteen copies of 'Katy Lied' and then the fifteenth will just have this sound from another world.
So you get pressings with a certain number scratched into the dead wax going for $1000, etc.
Has anyone here ever really gotten into this and heard/not heard the difference?