I worked in record stores in the mid 80's when I was in high school, as well as in the mid 90's when I was in college and I definitely held onto the adage that novelty vinyls generally sounded like crap, especially picture discs; colored vinyls were pretty rare back then. I sold all of my vinyls in 1988 earn I joined the army and again in 2006, when faced with a solo cross-country move while recovering from a broken collarbone, so I don't have many vintage pieces to compare. I also won't buy a picture disc for the reasons previously mentioned, however it's been my recent experience with the vinyls I've purchased in the past 4 years, that there is little to no difference between black and colored vinyls, particularly translucent platters; the transparent, untinted UHQR vinyls I have are among the best sounding records I've heard, for which mastering and pressing have a role in the SQ and I'm not qualified enough to opine on what effect the lack of carbon black on vinyls does, although I have significant experience with it as a tire wear and heat diffusing additive, working as a tire and suspension tech in professional motorcycle racing in the 2010's.
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