Should You Replace Vinyl Record Inner Sleeves? Two Records Made Me Wonder

A $10 record from 1987, a new 180g John Coltrane reissue, and a simple question about how much protection our records actually need.

I've had two very different jazz records spinning recently.

One is a 1987 copy of I Love Jazz that I found used for $10 at Flashbacks in Hamilton.

The other is John Coltrane's Giant Steps, a 180-gram gatefold reissue I bought new at PCV Records.

Different eras. Different prices. Different inner sleeves.

Both sound great.

But when I pulled Giant Steps from its jacket, the inner sleeve looked like paper.

My immediate reaction was:

Should I replace this?

Then I looked inside.
​
And realized the answer wasn't as obvious as I thought.

Read More