Vinyl Rules

I hear about the comeback of Vinyl almost yearly it seems. But it is good to finally see a reputable paper, The Washington Post, write a well researched story (well researched by today's blogging culture standards) on a marked change in popularity. The reporter talked about kids who appreciate the sound quality that comes from analog records. I have had episodes where I painstakingly compared sound quality on my records vs. my Cd's on my better-than-average-but-nothing-special stereo and granted Vinyl a very slim victory. But I suddenly get it, because to kids today who grew up on iTunes songs and pirated mp3s, the uncompressed sound of vinyl should be amazing.

Though I have severely cut down my record shopping habit and increased my savings in the process, I found somethings pretty interesting in the story.

Turntable shipments topped 32,000 in April, one-third higher than the 19,000 record players sold the same month a year ago, according to the Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington. That's less than 1 percent of total music-player sales, but the increase has not escaped the notice of store managers. CD sales declined 15 percent in 2007, but sales of vinyl recordings are on the rise, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a research company that tracks music sales. Year-over-year sales of vinyl records increased 70 percent in March and could reach 1.6 million by year's end.

Long live vinyl, maybe I can count it as a long term investment.