I ave read about many solutions regarding the cleaning off old recordings. Most advise fancy professional machines and such but a knowledgble person that was emplyoyed with me at a recording studio used undiluted isoprophile alcohol sprayed liberally on a disc washer brush and applied to a revolving record from the center outward with fantastic results. I have used this method for 20 years with no degradation of any records despite frequent warnings of this method, Spend about 2-3 minutes with the wet brush, let air dry and listen to pure sound.
I use a product called Gruv-Glide. Works really well for getting dust, grime and static off records. When you run it across a record after its been played and handled a bunch you can actually feel and hear the static transfer to the pad.
Alcohol is too acidic for the anti-stick/smooth sheeting that is on the top of the vinyl, and it'll leave the record looking darker and slicker but ultimately less protected. Brushes you should only use very rarely, stick to a felt pad (or the thing that comes with gruv-glide).
I've tried just about everything, and while the gruv-glide is a bit expensive, it lasts me a really long time and I'm a DJ, so, for someone who just plays records at home once in a while, I'm pretty sure a can would last at least a year. Because, you just need a tiny bit on the pad.
Finally, if you get the occasional tick and pop on your records, don't sweat it... it gives it a bit of lush character that leaves digital formats sounding coldly precise. Then again, maybe I'm not the guy to ask, because while I'm an admitted audioholic, I'm a crappy audiophile.
