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Rating: 
Summary: Not What It's Cut-Out to Be
Review: Although this guide is recommended by a few 78 RPM record collectors on the internet, I found it full of omissions. Older recordings in my our collection, even though their historical value may be significant to some, are not listed at all. It seems that some of these performers are unknown by the author. Look up John McCormack with your search engine, for instance. Many fans of the records by this famous Irish tenor, particularly in Ireland, would be appalled. The label examples are fun, but are not worth the full new price of the book. Buy it used from Amazon if you want to check it out. Otherwise leave your searches on the internet for other books more beneficial to your collection. For later recordings, or those of the '50s, check out 'Rockin' Records'.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthless Reference Source........Save your money
Review: As the other reviews noted, organizing the listings by musical genre instead of artist or record label was really dumb. If that weren't bad enough, the author also makes the mistake of assuming that all or most of his readers should be "knowledgeable collectors", and for that reason, common records are not included at all.
I picked up the first record from my stack, a yellow label MGM, by Billy Eckstine. What genre is he or she? Don't know. After looking through all sections, I never found this record or artist listed. Is it common or rare? I still don't know, and this book helped not at all.
From the introduction: "Following are brief explanations of terms and symbols used by collectors and dealers. Some are forthright and succinct. Others, attempting to define the various styles and idioms of music, are somewhat amorphous, if not downright evasive."....wasn't this supposed to be an informative 'Record Guide'?
Also from the introduction: "Those seeking information about hit or 'charted' records should consult other references". This reviewer agrees.
Rating: 
Summary: 6th Ed. - Disappointment
Review: Fine reference but horribly organized. The author has chosen to structure the book by genre of music and not by artist. In doing so, a particular artist may be found in several different parts of the book depending on what particular record you're looking for. Not only is this cumbersome, it's fairly subjective based on the author's definitions - e.g. is this Rockabilly or country? Is this Blues or Rhythm and Blues? The author admits in the Organization of This Book section that; "The inclusion of a given artist in a particular section is often a matter of arbitrary choice." Additionally, if you have an artist that you're not familiar with, say the Bang Boys for instance...where do you look? Jazz & Big Band? Blues? Country? Rock& Roll?, etc. It is a frustrating experience. To add insult to injury, there is no index to the book (which was the saving grace in the 5th Ed..)The label references are very good and the actual valuations are beneficial and fairly representative of the marketplace. If the book were re-organized for easier browsing, it would be indispensable.....as it is, it's so-so.
Rating:
Summary: Warning Not a complete guide!!
Review: This book starts with a contradictory disclaimer that says essentially:"We do but we dont, we will but we wont, we have but we havent etc..." This book contains a sampling of artists, not all artists. It claims some International content but I have yet to find it. Its only redeeming quality is the excellent label references and pictures that can date your records to the year (this too is incomplete though). I bought the book simply to confirm the date and artists other titles(basic collector info). This book is useless for that purpose unless you share the specific tastes of the author.
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