I'm already well familiar with vinyl from collecting classical LP's and other non-popular or obscure genres, which I can find still sealed and/or in NM condition at great prices, but I've been getting a bit frustrated as of late by the lack of availability of CD's in stores, of ANY genre, and it seems to keep getting worse every time I visit.
Not being the type who's musical life normally revolves around his PC, I went into a record shop the other day and saw all this great new Rock/Pop vinyl, music I remembered when I was younger and some of which I used to have on vinyl. Some were special editions and hard to find on CD (nowadays). I was tempted to buy a few, even at their higher prices, which wasn't that bad actually for the quality.
It's ironic that as CD's continue to dwindle in favor of downloads (many of which are inferior by the way), some of us who are still fascinated by vinyl and desire to own something physical and/or unique may be tempted to turn to the medium more and more.
Also, vinyl and TT technology has been pretty much perfected. The only real improvements I believe can be made is with the new laser LP players recently developed, but which are a still an exotic niche product and are terribly expensive. We already know how to get the best performance possible from the LP. We know the idiosyncrasies and longevity of vinyl.
You won't have to wake up one day and find out your music no longer works with the new formats or machines, or that some idiot decided to implant disabling codes or viruses or who know what else onto your discs/downloads. Or that your 25 year old 1st generation CD's you paid good money for are slowing developing a bunch of little pin holes that keep growing in number, and the discs may not even out live you!
Digital formats/downloads keep constantly changing at breathtaking speeds, sometimes for the worse and sometimes for the better. As soon as a standard is set (if any), it goes the way of the dodo within a year or two. I'm not against progress mind you, but I don't even want to keep up with it all anymore, and I'm craving more simplicity in my life.
Yes, vinyl can wear out, but if cared for properly and not listened to incessantly or played on lousy equipment, can last indefinitely. The 75+ year old 78 rpm's I have in EX condition can attest to that, and the newer LP's are made even better. Also, if these laser TT players ever become affordable to the average person, we could now experience these old treasures in full analog glory without ever having to think about groove wear again!
If the LP is superior to some other formats in only one way, it is certainly in the area of aesthetics. The LP cover art, labels, inner sleeves and the vinyl itself, can be a work of art and a thing of beauty.
Then there's the art and ritual of playing the LP, which many will describe as a pain in the rear (and it is sometimes), but can also be a fun and involving experience when in the right mood. Then there is also the investment/resale value. Quality vinyl always has, and continues to fetch the highest prices over any other format, save for the occasional rare OOP CD/SACD.
I enjoy and use CD, and I always will as long as I can still get the good ones. Preferably, I wish all recordings of any genre could be on SACD.
But since that format has largely abandoned the Rock/Pop genres, and many of it's younger listening audience seems content with inferior pirated MP3's, I think I may start to diversify my vinyl portfolio!
