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Yes, Vinyl is Back! (Again)

by Christine Whitney on June 14, 2008 at 02:30 PM



Hooray! As we reported last year, vinyl, our favorite music format, is rumored to be making a comeback. A recent CNN article asserts that from 2006 to 2007, manufacturers' shipments of LPs increased by 36%, while shipments of CDs dropped over 17%. In your face, CDs and MP3s!

Hard-core music aficionados laud the analog sound delivered by records as more continuous and superior to digital recordings like those found on CDs. And LPs are so much more handsome and charming! Case in point: Our first LP was Iggy Pop's 'New Values' but our first CD was Ace of Base.

With the advent of MP3s, we've trashed most of our CDs [full disclosure: we held onto 'The Sign'] but the LPs remain. DJs and other eccentrics like ourselves have long been faithful to the LP format, but lately it's starting to make an incursion into the mainstream, as many mega music retailers such as Amazon.com and Best Buy have started offering LPs.

Mega-chains are not expected to cause competition for indie record stores, as their clientele and musical persuasions are dramatically different. Top sellers from the corporate end include Madonna's latest 'Hard Candy,' and everybody's parents' favorite standby, The Beatles' 'Abbey Road,' which you'd be loathe to find at the neighborhood record exchange. [Source: CNN]

Tags: analog, breaking news, BreakingNews, music, records, retro, vinyl

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