Record-breaking: The backstory of vinyl’s comeback

When it comes to technology, usually people want the latest and greatest. So why are vinyl records making a comeback? For some people, it never went away.
Larry Potash goes deep into the modern revival of wax tracks in this piece for Backstory.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

Vinyl isn't in the middle of a comeback. It's been back for over a decade now.

[@derosa1989]

exactly. These "is vinyl a fad" stories go back many years now, it's sort of funny.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

@@derosa1989 Yep. And of course, KZbin has suggested a bunch more to me since I left this comment LOL

[@markgreene1162]

I know right. What are they talking about. Get with the times.

[@bikdav]

@@derosa1989That’s interesting. Some years back, I was at an indoor flee market and saw about ten or so middle schoolers digging through boxes of LPs.

[@TheMindIlluminated]

Because vinyl is like hard copy books. It’s just the classic format people think of. It’s not going anywhere. Neither are CDs or tapes, for that matter. Music fanatics will buy this stuff until the end of time.

[@mariawesley7583]

I love maintaining my records. I love the album art. I love reading the liner notes. I love a black disc with an artistic label. And I love splatter vinyl and picture discs. I love appreciating the song order. I love the camaraderie of vinyl enthusiasts. I love the decades long history I have at local record stores. I love that my 1st boyfriend lent me his copy of The Kinks "One for the Road" and let me keep the poster.

[@astolatpere11]

I love my lps. Nothing like it.

[@tonysmith5878]

DAMN STR8 IT NEVER WENT ANYWHERE FOR ME....LET IT GO OUTTA STYLE IN AN HOUR... I'LL STILL BE DIGGIN'....ROCK ON COLLECTORS WORLDWIDE!!!!

[@DreamstoRealityAutomotiveTV]

I look at my vinyl collection as another person looks at their books in their library. If you are a music person, vinyl is the only platform worth collecting. Vinyl is the bar, everything else like cassettes and cds were to accommodate people for their travels in their lives. MP3 and streaming is now where we learn about music but what’s worth having is worth having on vinyl

[@adewoleabioye8540]

Wonderful segment. I started collecting records about 10 years ago and I am so happy about my journey. It forces me to be engaged with the music and I also love how it allows me to share with dear family and friends. It's one of my favorite hobbies.

[@SRX2004]

Great story. Thought it was odd that no one mentioned cleaning the records before playing them. Saw several needles with lint and dust under them. Clean records sound better and your needle lasts longer.

[@trackingangle929]

all of my 80's era fantasies about a vinyl resurgence have come true...actually it's beyond my wildest fantasies!

[@almur88]

we have to thank mp3 and mastering engineers from 1995-2015 timeline for vinyl comeback. they both combined did a great job for any newbee listening to vinyl for the first time to exclaim "wow, I never suspected my favorite song has so many details in it, like another half of the band or additional orchestra section is suddenly appearing".

[@trackingangle929]

great point!

[@Vriess123]

It's nearly impossible to buy a digital song of certain genres that isn't brickwalled into oblivion it's awful

[@toolfan347]

Can we get cd players back in cars please?!

[@xxBLKSNXxx]

PLease no

[@producer73]

It never went away.....I was and I am one of those few. When CD's came out in the late 80's, gaining popularity in the 90's....I was still preferring vinyl and tape over digital. Though I did purchase a CD player, that was only because, at tymes it was difficult to find certain bands of the tyme on vinyl. I would have much prefer it vinyl, and when any possible moment came to purchase any particular band like Smashing Pumpkins, STP, Charlatans UK, Blur etc....I did. I would search and search record shops in search of vinyl before I had to resort to CD. Sigh.....

[@Groundedsquirrel]

That shop is great! What a legacy.

[@bigwheeliejumper]

a take time out decompress...so important in this 'hurry/no time-age'. to go through your own little ritual of putting on the record..kicking back and listening...my current listen is future islands..amazing band.

[@EddieJazzFan]

I think the main reason CDs quickly became so popular has to do with the late 70s oil crisis. Vinyl is made from oil, which became expensive. Record companies started to use recycled vinyl to keep profits steady. Grinding up unsold records (including the paper label) to re-melt and press into new records created lower quality, noisy and poor sounding albums. They were also made thinner which makes them warp easier. Now many records are much better quality so people are hearing the difference.

[@bikdav]

@EddieJazzFan: I was informed that CDs are making a comeback also.

[@Pauldjreadman]

And the smaller and seemingly sound better.

[@brucevair-turnbull8082]

Nice to see those black ladies in Chicago carrying on the family business. Those disorderly shelves seem strangely familiar...😉

[@jimmccall-yo7es]

Bad for the records too. They need to be stored straight up and down pretty tightly together, otherwise the will warp.

[@larryshaver3568]

Vinyl NEVER went away to me i'm just rediscovering the pluses

[@michaellourie4252]

Its all about that warm lush sound....especially of albums recorded in an analog fashion. Digitally sourced lps still(when done well) still sound better than the cds.

[@martinrose2833]

Love me love my LP12

[@tonysmith5878]

I BLAR MY MUSIC. WEATHER ANYONE LIKES WHAT I PLAY OR NOT....I LOVE IT OUT LOUD❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@VinylPro]

some people are truly fans !

[@tonysmith5878]

IT USUALLY STARTS OUT AS WHAT YOUR PARENTS WERE LISTENING TO. THE STUFF I OWN, MY PARENTS PLAYED A SMALL PART OF SOME OF IT, THE BULK OF IT CAME FROM HIP HOP. AND THEN IT GREW FROM THERE WITH MY THIRSTY EARS.

[@bikdav]

I’m not certain that vinyl is a passing fad. I also noticed that 💿 CDs becoming popular again.

[@nycrhythmcom-Vnylperv9pmfriday]

"Vinyl is the Future."

[@puddle5ofmud599]

Does anyone know the online store the woman in this video has who likes the Smashing Pumpkins has. would love to know cheers for any response.

[@alphonzodarty7021]

I'm guessing she's selling off a site like Discogs, since they didn't make mention of a personal store.

[@franzkanns3526]

09:00 could somebody please tell me who it is? thank you!

[@smokeybear69]

Presenter sounds like the guy off the White Stripes tune Little Acorns.

[@davidgallistel2083]

I enjoy music on all formats. The "revival" has been great as records have become more available. But what does it say that 50% of record buyers don't own a record player?

[@92trdman]

warm sound and art value makes music lover wants one.(Btw , it hurt to see overweight tuning cartridges bang the vinyl surface)

[@monaural2.988]

These “vinyl is back” posts have been going on for the past 15 years. But what then happened was everybody and his brother swearing their Tony Martin and Ethel Merman albums are worth $50 because “vinyl is back”. Meanwhile CDs are being pitched out for next to nothing, even though they’re the exact same artists that everyone is giving up their entire paychecks for in vinyl. So guess which format the smart shoppers are eating up?

[@jpaleas]

For me vinyl records never went away and I giggle as Hi Fi stereo gear nowadays is made with a Dac on board, to process digital signal into analog and make it well... sounding more like a record LOL!

[@mypalfootfoot9591]

It may be that there's a certain sophistication to playing a vinyl record, it creates a feeling which harkens back to a time past, a time before social media, streaming movies, smart phones, online dating, digital everything! It seemed to be a less chaotic time, it was a time of personal interactions, Michael Caine's glasses, Connery's Bond, Bridget Bardot's bikini, Grace Kelly becoming a princess, poetry readings, epic movies that played for months in the same theater, women wearing sun dresses with white gloves, independent book stores, 3 TV channels, one hour news broadcasts, a simpler time when we weren't consumed by the myriad forms of contemporary media. Console stereos, Grundig, Magnavox, Zenith, some with reel to reel players were prevalent. It wasn't unusual to see someone on their way to a friends house with several albums under their arm, everyone had a stereo system with a turntable back then. Adults would have cocktail parties and play Take Five from Dave Brubeck's Time Out album or Miles' Birth of the Cool or Bennett, Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee or Nina Simone. Perhaps, the act of selecting an album, placing it on a turntable, lowering the stylus and settling in for a listen is a way to recapture a part of the past in which people *_seemed_* to be more urbane, elegant and less troubled?

[@trackingangle929]

"PBC pellets" lol. PVC!!!

[@MrJasonMeans]

First thing…rebuy all the albums I had growing up.

[@Mikexception]

There is nothing new in audio technology. Only the electronic instruments many years ago made their revolution. One important difference is that every new produced LP or CD reledition album or file is remastered using new digital capabilities just to reach to modern listener wish of technical perfection

[@tudormiller887]

Yep! It's all down to Taylor Swift. She IS the music industry now.

[@tonyperek7292]

The vinyl may have its positives but the compact disc is far more practical in today’s world.

[@ronaldweed6103]

Agree!

[@mpi5850]

lol - if convenience is your argument, CD’s are only slightly more so. Streaming is the ultimate in convenience. Streaming is the soda pop / fast food version of music listening, whereas vinyl is like a fine glass of scotch or an expertly cooked steak.

[@markgreene1162]

Yep. CD sound better. I collect vinyl for a different sound and nostalgia.

[@williamhopper6602]

I agree

[@frankjames6703]

The music industry killed vinyl when CD became popular. Then promised CD prices would come down . Then streaming and downloaded killed their business model . Now before the Biden manufactured inflation prices of new recorded soared . This will eventually kill the popularity of vinyl . The music industry never will learn .

[@Pkilla80]

I like how you blamed Biden 😅 dope

[@Pauldjreadman]

Vinyl still sells because it all, a physical sound. It's the nearest to the studio sound as you can possible get.its had its hits with other formats and still sells. And it's awful art and it's just well yes, magic :)

[@owenoneill5955]

In Germany CDs outsell LPs by a ratio of 5 to 1 In the UK CDs outsell LPs 2 to 1 USA sales figures are 46.6million CDs to 39.7 million LPs, So people are confusing value of sales over number of units sold. Overpaying for LPs maybe?

[@derosa1989]

I think your info is old. CD sales continue to fall, Vinyl record sales outperformed CDs in the US for the first time since 1987, according to a new report. Just over 41 million vinyl records were sold in 2022, to the tune of $1.2bn. Only 33 million CDs were sold, amounting to $483

[@mpi5850]

@@derosa1989 - Correct.

[@ViaFerrataCH]

Streaming is easier

[@Lee.Higginbotham]

Good for you. Not everybody wants LIMITED choices.

[@xxBLKSNXxx]

That is the problem with people today. LAzy.

[@nbddhjjnodnfbjdbehe7006]

2nd wave vinyl is pretty much already and later will be more valuable. The oldies are only loved by oldies. If and when it comes back the collector’s will be gone.

[@mpi5850]

Maybe try speaking English instead of verbal diarrhea.

[@Wixom2200]

Also, try to give you little money when you're selling some records to them. Ripoff artist.