To those of us that were buying music in the 1980's, it became easy to see by 1986 or so, that those "new" CD's were going to replace our Lps. The vinyl selection in stores got smaller and smaller, until by about 1989, there were no LPs to be found.
But then...a wonderful thing happened. Used record stores started popping up all over the place, offering great albums for cheap prices? You missed buying "Lexicon of Love" by ABC when it came out? Now you could find it for 50 cents in the bins of a used record store! People started buying records again, and electronics manufacturers started making record players again, so much so that right now, there are now more makes and models of turntables available than at any time since 1990!
First look inside the jacket of the LP. The record should be in some kind of paper sleeve inside. If it isn't, buy some. The plain white paper sleeve will do more to preserve the quality of playback of your records than almost anything else. If the record is in a plastic sleeve (at least two well known record companies used a lot of these in the 80's) replace that too! In some cases the plastic an melt and bond itself to the record's surface, ruining the LP forever!! By all means keep the original inner sleeve if it has lyrics or pictures! When you slide the record (in its new paper sleeve) back into the LP jacket, put the open end (of the sleeve) in so it faces the closed top, not the open side. That way, your record will stay in the jacket until you want to take it out next time.
When you remove a record from its inner sleeve to play it, always handle the LP by edges or center. Never touch the playing surface!!
LPs should ALWAYS be stored vertically, NEVER horizontally. Don't lay them flat unless they are on a turntable! Heat and humidity can combine, turning that copy of Bill Idol's "Don't Stop" Into a potato chip tray!
Milk crates do make good temporary LP storage but, because they aren't all that stackable (3 high at most), you may want to think about some other solutions, especially if your collection contains more than 500 records.
If good looks don't matter that much to you, heavy-duty industrial metal shelving isn't a bad idea. Just remember that each shelf should be at least 12½ inches deep. It cannot be those flimsy $19.95 aluminum shelves, either. Believe it or not, a shelf unit containing 1,000 LPs weighs over 400 pounds, so make sure it's sturdy.
If good looks DO matter to you, consider having your LP shelves custom made. Commercially available pressboard entertainment furniture does not have the strength to handle all that weight. As a guide, a 3-foot wide run of LPs weighs about 100 pounds.
NEVER use rubbing alcohol to clean your LPs! It contains chemicals and lubricants that will permanently ruin the records!!
If professional-type cleaning kits are not available, you can use a little distilled water on a lint-free cloth, wiping in a straight line from center to edge. For really filthy LPs you can use a solution of mild detergent, but always remember to allow the LP to dry before playing it.