I get where you're coming from Shaun, i listen regularly to vinyl, CD and streamed Spotify and honestly i can happily listen to all three formats, i prefer vinyl but it's more than just the music with the black stuff it's the whole ritual of taking the record out of that big sleeve popping it on the TT, running the carbon fibre brush over it and that little bit of crackle you get even on a very clean record, CD and definitely streamed formats don't give me that, it doesn't make the music any better though but it does make the whole experience of listening more enjoyable for me at least.
As for as new over 2nd hand goes i'm with Martin, 2nd hand is fine as long as you have a RCA and personally i think that vinyl recording was better back then, i think to some degree the "art" of producing a good vinyl master has been lost over time, don't get me wrong i have some good new records, but my best sounding lp's all come from the 70's, coincidence or did they know something back then that's sadly been forgotten?