hezagenius

I counted 8 UK pressings on Apple with PCS7067 in 1968 so I wouldn't assume it's the first one listed.

Check the dead wax area between the groove and label.  There's usually writing or stamping of some kind there.  That will give you plenty of info to check on discogs.  Or tell us what the dead wax writing says and we might be able to help.
 
Does it have a number embossed or stamped on the front cover?  It would be like "No 0021517"  or something like that.

Does it come with an mp3 download?  For that kind of money, it better.

I'd put '69 or '70 up against pretty much any year.
 
Here are just 10 of the 1969 highlights:
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
The Velvet Underground
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
In A Silent Way
The Stooges
In The Court Of The Crimson King
Abbey Road
Let It Bleed
Trout Mask Replica
 
10 1970 highlights:
Black Sabbath
Paranoid
Deja Vu
Bitches Brew
After The Gold Rush
Led Zeppelin III
Abraxas
Tea For The Tillerman
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Mwandishi

Hell yes on Nightsatan. Their first album, Midnight Laser Warrior, is amazing.  Some really great John Carpenter-esque stuff on that one.  Their 2nd LP is not as good, IMHO, but still solid.
 
Here's a fan-made video for one of the songs of the 1st LP.  I don't know the movie but it fits well with the music.  Looks like an 80's post-apocalyptic movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWkUlQQPbFA
 
Death to false laser metal!

To the original poster:
It depends if you are interested in the record for sonics or collectability.  If you want the best sounding record, generally the rule of thumb is to get a 1st pressing.  Some exceptions to this could be when a audiophile label recuts a record using better equipment and techniques, etc.  But just because a label claims to be an audiophile label doesn't mean it's true.
 
For investment purposes, generally the more rare the pressing, the more valuable.  But if you are expecting to make a ton of money buying variants, you will probably end up being disappointed.

To the original poster:
It depends if you are interested in the record for sonics or collectability.  If you want the best sounding record, generally the rule of thumb is to get a 1st pressing.  Some exceptions to this could be when a audiophile label recuts a record using better equipment and techniques, etc.  But just because a label claims to be an audiophile label doesn't mean it's true.
 
For investment purposes, generally the more rare the pressing, the more valuable.  But if you are expecting to make a ton of money buying variants, you will probably end up being disappointed.

The Sleeve City ones have the adhesive on the sleeve, not the flap.  This cuts down on the chances that the adhesive comes in contact with the LP jacket.

I'll take Bandcamp over Tidal.  Better music probably, and I can stream for free and pay to download FLAC/buy vinyl if I want to own the lossless version.

As far as I can tell, this is simultaneously the dumbest and most important question ever asked on VC:  Can someone explain to me what is the big deal about this album?  I see references to it everywhere and it's like people are willing to part with their left testicle to get a copy.  The way people talk about it, it's like (Sgt Peppers + Kind Of Blue + Jesus)^(10^100).
 
This is an honest question.  I've never heard the album.

As far as I can tell, this is simultaneously the dumbest and most important question ever asked on VC:  Can someone explain to me what is the big deal about this album?  I see references to it everywhere and it's like people are willing to part with their left testicle to get a copy.  The way people talk about it, it's like (Sgt Peppers + Kind Of Blue + Jesus)^(10^100).
 
This is an honest question.  I've never heard the album.

As far as I can tell, this is simultaneously the dumbest and most important question ever asked on VC:  Can someone explain to me what is the big deal about this album?  I see references to it everywhere and it's like people are willing to part with their left testicle to get a copy.  The way people talk about it, it's like (Sgt Peppers + Kind Of Blue + Jesus)^(10^100).
 
This is an honest question.  I've never heard the album.

As far as I can tell, this is simultaneously the dumbest and most important question ever asked on VC:  Can someone explain to me what is the big deal about this album?  I see references to it everywhere and it's like people are willing to part with their left testicle to get a copy.  The way people talk about it, it's like (Sgt Peppers + Kind Of Blue + Jesus)^(10^100).
 
This is an honest question.  I've never heard the album.

Sleeve City is the bomb for inners.  I used the Ultimate Audiophile Inners.  Smooth as fucking velvet.  For outers, I use Bags Unlimited.  They have more size and thickness options than Sleeve City.  I recommend using polyethylene bags over polypropolene.  PE has some advantages over PP.  It is more supple so the bags won't get as stiff and it will be less likely to scratch the vinyl or jacket.  It is more static resistant so it should attract less dirt and dust.  It has better light blocking ability.to reduce fading of the jackets.
 
As far as bunching, are you top loading or side loading your jackets?  I always put the jacket in so the top of the jacket is towards the sleeve opening.  I get less bunching that way.  I also recommend putting the inner sleeve with the vinyl in separately from the jacket.  That way, you can remove the LP without taking the jacket out.

Run it under cold water in the sink for a while.  The labels should be fine as long as you don't scrub them.  When they dry, they should look normal again.
 
Whenever I clean a record, my first step is to run it under the faucet to get all the loose stuff off.  Then I scrub it with distilled water, enzyme cleaner and tergitol.  Then I rinse in the sink.  Then I submerge and rinse in distilled water and then pat dry and let it air dry the rest of the way.  After that, I put it through a vacuum RCM.  If that doesn't get it clean, the record is toast.  And the labels always look like they did when I started.

Can you file an insurance claim if insurance wasn't purchased when it was shipped?

It better be delivered on a feather pillow and come with a BJ for that shipping price.
 
I still ordered it of course.
 
My wallet is butt hurt today.  Ordered the Beatles mono box, the two new Led Zep boxes and now this.  It's time to chill the fuck out for a while.

I typically let small corner dings and very small seam splits go, as long as the packing job was done well.  If it was packed well, then it is hard to fault the seller.  Of course, you could make the argument that if something gets damaged in the mail, it wasn't packed well enough.
 
If the packing job was shitty and the record or jacket gets messed up, that thing is getting returned.  If I'm paying good money for something, I expect to receive it in that condition and that the seller do everything they can to make sure that happens.  Sellers that say "shit happens" when they don't take the time to pack something well are just being lazy and are not looking to make customers happy.  I don't get to pay 50% of the price and say shit happens.
 
Is it too much to ask that labels/sellers pack a record correctly?  A padded envelope is not acceptable unless there is significant reinforcements inside.  I can't even count the number of times I've received a record in a padded envelope with absolutely no reinforcement.  Sometimes they make it OK.  Usually there is damage to the jacket.
 
The record should at a minimum be sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard and then put into an LP mailer box.  Those things are not expensive, especially when you buy them in bulk.  For what labels/sellers are charging for shipping these days, they can afford to use them.  If a record is packed like that, the chances of getting damaged in transit is pretty low.

The best part of RSD is coming here and reading the stories about how the stores turned into shit shows when the doors opened, and how the asshole in front of you bought all 4 copies of the DMB box set and then declared that they would sell them for a reasonable 50% markup before putting them on ebay you know just to be nice, and then the stories about the chaotic scramble and constant website refreshing for left over scraps online that night.
 
Good times, good times...

The best part of RSD is coming here and reading the stories about how the stores turned into shit shows when the doors opened, and how the asshole in front of you bought all 4 copies of the DMB box set and then declared that they would sell them for a reasonable 50% markup before putting them on ebay you know just to be nice, and then the stories about the chaotic scramble and constant website refreshing for left over scraps online that night.
 
Good times, good times...

Discogs is decent but not the be all end all source for information.  For things with lots of pressings, it can be hard to wade through all the pressing listings in Discogs because they aren't listed in order.  Google can be useful and even ebay.  If you do enough checking around, you will start figuring out what labels and matrix numbers to look for.  If I'm going after a 1st pressing of ITCOTCK, I'm checking lots of sources to make sure I know what's what because that one isn't coming cheap.
 
Try this thread for some useful information:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/which-king-crimson-itcotck-island-uk-matrices-are-from-the-master-tapes.190080/
 
 
FYI, as you probably are realizing, being a 1st pressing collector can get very expensive very quickly.

I've made up excuses in the past to not see these guys but if they are anywhere within a 6 hour drive from me, fuck it, I'm going.  I've heard some of their shows in the past are kind of hit or miss but that's probably because they never used to tour and play whole songs live.  Hopefully they are in KC, Minneapolis or Omaha.

That's weird. I have no explanation for that haha

The most important thing to do if you are going the wet cleaning route (Discwasher, SpinClean, vacuum RCM, etc.) is to do a final rinse with just distilled or lab grade water.  There are a lot of impurities that can get left behind when using cleaning fluids like dish soap, Spin Clean fluid or any other commercially bought fluid.  At least one rinse with just water should take care of most of these.  Two rinses for the OCD people like me and you should be golden.  And don't use tap water as a final rinse.  There are lots of things in tap water that will remain behind once the water evaporates.
 
A word of caution when using dish soap - make sure to rinse thoroughly!  A little dish soap goes a looong way when cleaning records and it leaves quite a bit of residue behind.  I used to clean records with a mixture of water, isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of dish soap as a surfactant.  I cleaned them in a plastic tub and then rinsed them under the faucet in the sink.  I would rinse a record for at least 30 seconds on each side and there was still soap residue left.  You can tell by holding the record with 1 hand at the 3:00 position and 1 hand at the 9:00 position and quickly but gently flexing it up and down several times.  The agitation from the flexing would cause little soap bubbles to form along the grooves.  I now use Photo Flo as a surfactant.  This rinses much cleaner.  Triton X-100 is also supposed to be good as a surfactant.

7" ones are OK this way, but definitely not the 12" ones.  10" ones are kind of in the middle so it just kind of depends on the mood you're in..