10" - Abbreviation for a 33 rpm or 78 rpm phonograph record. (In reference to its' diameter)

12"-a vinyl album that plays at 45 rpm speed 

33 - Abbreviation for a long playing phonograph record. (In reference to its' required RPM shorted from 33 1/3)

45 - Abbreviation for a single song 7" phonograph record. (In reference to its' required RPM)

7" - Abbreviation for a single song 45 rpm. phonograph record. (In reference to its' diameter)

78 - Abbreviation for a single song 10" phonograph record. (In reference to its' required RPM)

Album - A book that contains sleeves for the insertion of phonograph recordings. When the technology evolved to place several of these recordings onto one 'Long Playing' disc (33.3 RPM), It also became known as an album.

Anti-static sleeve - a cellulose and/or coated paper LP sleeve that protects vinyl from static charge

Audience tape - See  'Field recording'

Bootleg - an album, tape, CD, or other medium that contains intellectual property that has been pressed and distributed without the permission of the copyright holder (see more detail)

Colored vinyl - a record album that is any other single color than black 

Copy - one individual piece reproduced by the legal user of copyrighted material solely for a backup 

Copyright - the exclusive legal right to reproduce, published, and sell the matter and form of an intellectual property

Counterfeit - an exact, though inferior, duplication of copyrighted, published material produced with the intent to defraud 

Field recording - a live concert recorded by a hand-held device within the audience 

Full printed label - a label that contains at least the names and order of the songs (unique to Bob's Boots web site)

G ... Good (in reference to the visual and/or audio condition or quality). A minus sign (-) or plus sign (+) can be added to designate that the item is very slightly below or above the condition that one would expect. (See more detail)

Gatefold - an album cover that opens up like a book 

Generation - The distance, or number of tapes away from the original recording. In this digital age, we tend to forget that analog recordings (such as cassette to cassette) represent a huge sound quality loss with each succeeding copy. Therefore the lower the generation number (closer to the original)... the better the quality. The 1st generation tape is the first one made from the original (not the original itself). Because most official releases are recorded on multi track tapes, the 1st generation will be produced in the studio as the half track or mix tape. This tape is also referred to as the master, with the original tape that was recorded onto being referred to as the multi-trac. It is now common practice to mix analog multi-tracks down to digital tape. Digital recordings made from digital tape are not referred to as generations, as there is no detectable sound loss. The tape generation is a meaningless concept, therefor, in reference to digital media.

Groove depth scratch-(GD scratch or GDS) a scratch on an album which is deep enough to cut down into the sound of producing hills and valleys of the groove therefore producing an audible pop sound. 

Insert - an album whose cover consists of a plain cardboard jacket with a piece of paper inserted inside of it as the sole means of printed information.  Also refers to that piece of paper individually 

Intellectual property - a tangible medium that contains and/or represents the thought processes and/or artistic abilities of an individual (a 'song' for all intents and purposes within the scope of this site)

label - (lower case ' l ') the paper label on the record album (abbreviation unique to bobsboots.com website)

Label  (upper case ' L ') the manufacturer of the record album (abbreviation unique to bobsboots.com website)

LP - 'Long playing'. An abbreviation used to refer to a 33.3 RPM phonograph recording.

M ... Mint (in reference to the visual and/or audio condition or quality). A minus sign (-) can be added to designate that the item is very slightly below the condition that one would expect.

MCV - Multi colored vinyl

Marble - a multicolor vinyl that has been manufactured to resemble marble 

Matrix - the numbers or letters carved in the runoff used to identify the album 

Multicolor vinyl - vinyl consisting of more than one color 

NM - Near mint (in reference to the visual and/or audio condition or quality) 

NMP - Near mint price (unique to Bob's Boots web site)

P - Poor (in reference to the visual and/or audio condition or quality). 

P.A. - public address, public address system.  Generic term for main front sound system 

Pic. Disc or Picture disc - A record album that consists of pictures or photographs pressed into the vinyl

Pirate - one or more illegal copies produced from copyrighted material with the intent of distribution  (see more detail)

Printed label - see " Full printed label" 

Quasi legitimate - a sound recording that has been produced in an area of the world (usually Eastern or Eastern Europe) that does not recognize the (mostly) Western or USA copyright laws, and is apparently legal in the area in which it was produced 

Ring wear - deterioration of the image on a vinyl LP dust cover in the pattern of and due to the contours of the record album.  Ranges from noticeable to entire image destroyed

RPM, r.p.m. - Revolutions per minute. Used to establish how fast a phonograph recording is required to spin.

Runoff - (or runoff groove) the innermost groove or area of the album with no recorded sound 

Shrink wrap - the cellophane wrap that has sealed new albums since the 1960's.  Bootlegs did not come sealed from the factory (other than a few quasi legitimate European pieces). Seals were sometimes added at the retail level.

Sound board - A recording taken directly from the music mixing consoles. Also, the music mixing console itself. 

Source- (as is used on this site) the event(s) or venue represented on the record. Also used to refer to generation. 

Splatter vinyl - a multicolored vinyl record album that contains a " spin art" look to the vinyl 

SR - Sound recording

Studio tape - a tape made from direct outputs of the recording consoles in the recording studio.  * note * ... a " through the air" recording done with a mic in the studio is sometimes referred to as studio and sometimes referred to as field recording depending on the quality of the tape.

Surface noise - white noise that is not part of the recorded sound caused by bad vinyl, dirt or debris, or excessive wear 

Surface scratch - [click here for detail] a small fingernail scratch that rides the upper ridges of the record groove and does not affect sound play

VG ... Very Good (in reference to the visual and/or audio condition or quality). A minus sign (-) or plus sign (+) can be added to designate that the item is very slightly below or above the condition that one would expect.

Vinyl - a generic term referring to a record album and/or any of the various combinations of plastics and other materials used in the manufacturing of a record album. 

Virgin  vinyl - most vinyl record albums that were mass-produced used vinyl from various sources in the production of the album. This included a lot of post-consumer products such as old record albums.  The problem with this vinyl is that it had many imperfections (such as a piece of paper from the label of an old record album) these imperfections caused pops in the new album. Virgin vinyl is a term given to an album that was produced from virgin (all new ... no post-consumer) material. One way to check your album is to hold it up to a good, strong light source (preferably natural light). Virgin vinyl is translucent.