Okay, I need to vent about vinyl pressing quality.

I just received a record I pre-ordered nine months ago from a fairly well-regarded indie label. The pressing is so bad you can hear the warps on the digital rip I made for comparison. Surface noise that shouldn't be there on a new record. Off-center stamper on side B. This isn't a cheap bootleg — I paid $35 for this and waited three quarters of a year.

The pressing plant problem is real and it's getting worse. I know the pandemic disrupted supply chains and it hasn't fully recovered, but at some point the labels need to hold the plants accountable or pass the QC responsibility on to someone who takes it seriously. I've started asking on forums which plants specific labels use before pre-ordering and that feels insane for something that should just be standard quality.