# I don’t understand the craze for vinyl
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [October 21, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923 "2021-10-21T16:34:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 10
### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/182 "2023-03-10T20:14:39Z")
Some music is not available for download or streaming, at least in the US. Recently I bought some imported Japanese CDs because that music is otherwise not available here.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/183 "2023-03-10T20:24:22Z")
Because no one can cancel your service if you rip your own media.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/184 "2023-03-10T20:25:18Z")
A follow-up to my 2021 posting: As we were getting ready to move last year, records became a weight issue. We took two boxes of them to the local big record store in Portland and the guy surprisingly gave us $85 for some few of them that were apparently collectible. The rest came back home with us and I put them on FB Marketplace as a freebee. One guy responded immediately and said he’d be right over and take them all, sight unseen. We had some other stuff out on the sidewalk as freebies, and he came roaring up, slammed on the breaks, jumped out of his car and cried “Ohhhh, NOOOOOO! They’re all gone?” I said “No, I haven’t even taken them out of the back of the car yet.” I thought he would kiss me. Mind you, these were not collectible records, just fairly old with a lot of classical stuff. But he was thrilled to get them.
I don’t get it. Honestly, I don’t. They’re heavy, static ridden, and you need special equipment to play them. But it got them out of my house and into his, which was my goal.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/185 "2023-03-10T20:42:23Z")
You want something REALLY hard to understand?
Try [THIS](https://www.billboard.com/pro/vinyl-album-sales-rise-growth-slowing/)
> [@Billboard](#):
>
> While vinyl album sales continue to gain each year in the U.S., only half of those fans buying records actually own a vinyl record player,
Ok, I will admit in the '90s I bought an old copy of Boston on vinyl for $2 so I could hang it on my wall. At the time, I didn’t have a turntable.
BTW, why is Billboard of all people calling it a “vinyl record player”, do they have ChatGPT writing copy for them?
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/186 "2023-03-10T21:00:14Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> Why does ANYONE buy a CD now though?
To listen to high quality recordings without noise. And, if you can find it used, from someone who is thinking “I can unload these dead weights on some chump!” at a great price.
Plus, as noted, not everything is available streaming.
To be honest, some music that is not available streaming is also not available in CD, for example, Head East Live. The CD is literally half the 2-disc vinyl. I had to buy a vinyl copy for that. I have some vinyl that to this day has never been put out on CD.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/187 "2023-03-10T21:09:48Z")
> **[Head East Live!](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mlcI5WaUa51vwOWfKFCQHmNx8ItArH5JE)**
>
> A new music service with official albums, singles, videos, remixes, live performances and more for Android, iOS and desktop. It's all here.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/188 "2023-03-10T21:18:23Z")
I’ve looked for some pretty obscure records and YouTube has never let me down.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/189 "2023-03-10T21:18:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> But he was thrilled to get them.
Skeet shooter?
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/190 "2023-03-10T21:20:01Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#):
>
> You want something REALLY hard to understand?
Nah, that’s not hard to understand at all.
Some people buy vinyl for the cover art.
Others as an ‘investment’, hoping it will be worth something someday. There’s a bizarre market for unopened VHS tapes and vintage video game cartridges, after all. Seems to be the same folks just buying/selling to/from each other, since opening the packaging ruins the value, which seems to defeat the purpose of owning original media to me.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/191 "2023-03-10T21:28:49Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Some people buy vinyl for the cover art.
>
> Others as an ‘investment’, hoping it will be worth something someday.
And, I suspect that some may be buying limited-release vinyl from bands and recordings that they want, with the plans to purchase a turntable at some future date, while not wanting to miss out on obtaining _particular_ vinyl releases now.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/192 "2023-03-10T21:47:51Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Some people buy vinyl for the cover art.
>
> Others as an ‘investment’,
I freely admitted that I bought vinyl for the art, and as a person who paid way too much money for a “mint” Return of the Jedi record (for Kid Cheesesteak) I truly appreciate these reasons for buying vinyl besides listening to it.
But it’s **50%** of the people buying vinyl in the last 12 months. Half of the people buying records don’t even want to listen to them. That is what I find amazing.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/193 "2023-03-10T23:15:32Z")
I have about a dozen of my old vinyl in those 12x2 frames on the wall. They’re my old records, so no extra money was spent. I have all six covers from Zep’s In Through the Out Door, hanging together. Hey, I’m weird.
Except for one. I got Kansas Point of Know Return because I always liked the cover, but I actually had it on cassette,
I’d like to get Zappa’s Weasel Ripped My Flesh, but it seems so does everyone, because I’ve yet to find one at a “hang on the wall as art” fair price.
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/194 "2023-03-11T00:57:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> I’d like to get Zappa’s Weasel Ripped My Flesh, but it seems so does everyone, because I’ve yet to find one at a “hang on the wall as art” fair price.
Have you looked at Amazon or eBay recently?
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/195 "2023-03-11T01:08:59Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> Some music is not available for download or streaming
Some of that is old vinyl … but I get that.
> [@gnoitall](#):
>
> Because no one can cancel your service if you rip your own media.
I’d be surprised if very _many_ people were ripping CDs. Here perhaps there’s a selection bias.
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> To listen to high quality recordings without noise.
My experience with CDs was that they got damaged too. Meanwhile lossless streaming is available, and getting cheaper.
But I’m no audiophile.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/196 "2023-03-11T01:10:13Z")
I thought vinyl was outselling CDs for that last 20 years? Furthermore, I heard it was not so much because vinyl was so popular, but because CDs were so unpopular.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/197 "2023-03-11T02:11:26Z")
It is going to become more and more unlikely as time goes on that streaming services (even lossless ones) will have very many of my faves. So I get a hard copy as the physical backup after ripping them all in FLAC format, and haven’t had any of my old CDs deteriorate (yet). I also use a lot of custom art for individual songs, edits in Audacity where I do things like merge 2 or more cuts which make up longer suites, as well as using lyric files (where I can correct all of the numerous mondegreens that I run across, along with a few of my own which are much better than the putative originals). Plus I take a lot of trips into out of the way places where I’ll likely get no signal.
Streaming by contrast would be a literal worthless hell for me in that specific sense; a hopelessly ephemeral and inconvenient media. For exploring new things it could work tho, assuming the “If you like X you might like Y” algorithms work correctly, which in my past experiences they usually didn’t (because AI’s of that sort can’t really grasp what elements I like in a given cut or album).
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/198 "2023-03-11T05:46:51Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> I thought vinyl was outselling CDs for that last 20 years? Furthermore, I heard it was not so much because vinyl was so popular, but because CDs were so unpopular.
Look at this animated chart [click the blue button with arrow play button at the bottom]:
> **[Animated Chart of the Day: Recorded Music Sales by Format Share, 1973 to 2022](https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/animated-chart-of-the-day-recorded-music-sales-by-format-share-1973-to-2022/)**
>
> \[""\]
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/199 "2023-03-11T06:08:40Z")
There are two different metrics. Vinyl has made more money than CDs [since 2020](https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/13/tech/vinyl-records-cd-sales-riaa/index.html). Vinyl tends to be more expensive. But only recently did have there been more units sold records sold than CDs.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/200 "2023-03-11T15:30:28Z")
When they start putting record players back in cars, then vinyl will have arrived. Again.
[ ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1c/96/4f/1c964f937f6e651e8557a88b2d8402bf.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-don-t-understand-the-craze-for-vinyl/952923/201 "2023-03-11T15:44:53Z")
I have a turntable in the living room. But it’s unusable because of floor vibrations; it’s a wood floor over a basement, and briskly walking across it is enough to make the needle jump. I wish there was a good & economical way to fix the problem.
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