VKMP3

We’ve long argued that vinyl records offer better sound quality than CDs or MP3s, but our stoic loyalty in the face of change was seen as little more than a nostalgic bias during the 25 years in which digital recordings came to dominate the music industry. In recent years, however, sales of LPs have more than doubled online and are regaining overall market share, thanks to new converts looking for more than they can find in an MP3 selling for 99 cents online.

In 2008, 1.88 million vinyl albums were purchased, more than in any other year since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking LP sales in 1991. The previous record was in 2000, when 1.5 million LP albums were sold. More than two out of every three vinyl albums bought in 2008 were purchased at an independent music store, according to SoundScan.

Vinyl record sales rose 14% between 2006 and 2007, from 858,000 to 990,000. In contrast, CD sales plummeted over the past three years, from 553.4 million in 2006 to 360.6 million in 2008. MP3 sales grew from 32.6 million to 65.8 million during the same time period, according to SoundScan. Industry observers say vinyl record sales have skyrocketed because new buyers are discovering the value of owning albums, with their cover art, large liner notes and warm sound. The aesthetic value of a an LP also drawn younger buyers: most of those new customers who buy vinyl are teenagers dissatisfied with purchasing music online. They want the artwork that comes with an album cover as well as large liner notes and other extras.

Over the past 30 years, the number of companies manufacturing LPs has dwindled. But production remained relatively steady for those companies that remained in business, kept afloat by the aficionados who swear by vinyl’s sound quality. LPs have now made enough of a comeback that online retail sites such as Amazon.com have recently created pages dedicated to the sales of vinyl records.

Audiophiles who haven’t listened to an LP lately will likely find that the quality of sound on today’s albums surpasses that of the old-school vinyl of the 20th century. In the 1980s, companies pressed vinyl into records weighing 120 grams. Today, records are thicker, weighing in at 180 grams — and they’re recorded with more-sophisticated electronic equipment.

Records just sound better. They have that warmth to them, that analog-warm sound. A record reproduces music, a CD transforms it into zeros and ones, digital is a harsher sound. When one put a CD on, it’s the soundtrack of the day. It’s background music. When one want to listen to music, listen to a vinyl!