Description Well, here we are with the "Holy Grail" of Vinyl Record Collecting. Not only that, the condition of the collection is superlative. This auction is for all 35 of the released 2 LP Vinyl versions of the Virgin / EMI compilation series "Now That's What I Call Music". This is Number 1 to Number 35 of that series all in the original gatefold covers. From 36 onwards it was CD, Cassette and Download only. Starting in 1983 and the Vinyl versions finishing in 1996. It was such a shame they stopped the Vinyl versions as they do sound so much better than their CD / Cassette / Download counterparts. They are also beautiful pieces of 12" art in their own right, something which the smaller CD / Cassette releases could never capture. All were bought from HMV (Birmingham, New Street) at the time of initial release and stored immediately in Heavy Plastic gatefold covers. I cannot recall exactly but from about 16, 17 or 18 they are un-played and IF They have ever been out of their sleeves it was only to be lovingly inspected. I will leave them all in their gatefold plastic sleeves for you. Numbers 22, 23, 24, 26 & 33 have the original HMV price stickers on the front and 33 has a small HMV price sticker on the back too. The others did not have any price stickers on at all. So there are no nasty "removed sticker" messes or missing rectangles of laminate / cardboard. Across the whole collection the worst vinyl condition is Excellent plus. This constitutes about 7 of the earlier played records. The rest are all Near Mint with the majority unplayed. The covers of the vital last 20 or so are absolutely pristine and as Near Mint as "Near" can ever be. They were bought, transported home to Great Barr and encased in plastic. The earlier sleeves are at least Ex+, no rips or scuffs. I really cannot stress enough that the collection as a whole is in Near Mint condition Issue number 7 is the rarer alternative version which had the very late addition of "A Kind of Magic" by Queen. This has the little sticker announcing the fact, exactly as it should be. They all have their original inner sleeves, which were either plain white or, as with many of the early issues, with advertising on. This would normally be the advertising of the earlier editions or a spin-off edition on the inner sleeve. Each and every issue is as it should be in it's best possible state. All literature is present with a few of the early issues also having sheets in the cover of special offers from Virgin / EMI. I have always been an audiophile and taken care of my vinyl records, I have always had something like a decent Rega / pro-ject setup with a top-notch Record Cleaning Machine. Currently an Okki Nokki using L'art du Son fluid and Mobile Fidelity anti-static inner sleeves. I have not cleaned any of these records as they have never been intended for playing. If you want I will clean each and every record for an extra £100 (less than £1.50 per record / 75p per side). If you intend playing any of these it will really make a difference. It will also make their long term storage better as well as all dust / fluff / paper from the sleeves will be carefully removed. It will take the best part of a day to do properly. We can discuss this after you win the auction. It will be with my Okki Nokki and L'art Du Son Fluid if you are interested in the best of the best. If you have any questions then please do ask. I would recommend coming to pick them up in person from Swindon but I will pack them carefully if you need them posted. The insured postage would be £25. This would be by a reputable courier. Not the ridiculous £7 limit imposed by ebay, please wait for an invoice before paying Insurance will be to the nearest £20 above the winning bid up to a maximum of £1,000. (Not a bog-standard Hermes with £20 loss insurance which would be quite a bit lower, but waaaaay too risky. You really don't want this pristine set chucked into the back of someone's Vauxhall Astra.) It is the insurance that will bump up the cost, this is why I recommend cash on collection if you can get to Swindon. If having the collection posted then it is paypal payment only or cash on collection if you want to take the safest option. This is a UK only sale, I will not post overseas. Postage to the Highland and Islands might be higher I will check before sending an invoice if you are in a more remote area. Good luck and happy bidding for what is a very rare, complete collection in a minimum of excellent + / NM condition. All starting at 0.99p! Email me if you have any questions / offers. On 24-Jun-13 at 09:48:09 BST, seller added the following information: I am going to let the auction run to it's natural conclusion now that bids have started it is only fair. Good luck and happy bidding. (No more offers please)