# LPs have been obsolete for such a long time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 14, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528 "2022-02-14T13:56:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/41 "2022-02-16T00:06:56Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The vinyl I see purchased the most is merch at concerts. I doubt many of the buyers even listen to vinyl. They interact with the music through streaming. They buy vinyl to individually support music they like. I haven’t seen a band selling CD’s at a concert in years. This sort of tracks with a thought of mine: Supposedly vinyl is having this big resurgence but my impression from watching Techmoan videos on Youtube is that most modern record players are pretty trash, relying on the same subpar mechanics from the same factory even if they dress up the exteriors. There just isn’t anyone manufacturing quality components which seems surprising if lots of people are collecting vinyl. But less surprising if they’re literally _collecting_ vinyl rather than _playing_ vinyl. (The same goes for cassette players these days but you don’t hear as much about that and, really, I don’t even get the nostalgia allure of cassettes. Vinyl advocates are all “warm hiss of the record, man” but the primary memories I have of cassettes are mediocre sound and spooling it with a pencil after it gets jammed) ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/42 "2022-02-16T00:58:23Z")
> [@Keith1](#): > > The thing to remember about all of this is that whatever your choice to receive music; none of it matters if your music system is crap. You can have the highest quality vinyl or non-lossy file and it will still sound like shit if you aren’t listening to it with a decent sound system. But that doesn’t matter to most people. Sure, some people like to experience their music in a soundproof room with a perfect sound set-up - but most don’t. Some people enjoy listening to music at full volume in the car, some people like background music, some people like to put on music (recorded perfectly in a million-dollar sound studio) and then sing over the top (a great way for Dads to get the house to themselves), some people like listening to music while they run. People go to concerts - and concert sound is different to recorded sound (not to mention ambient noise from other patrons). It doesn’t have to be perfect. Music is an experience which can be enjoyed in many different ways, and yes, there is a minimum quality standard applicable. But every different experience can have a different standard. Ease of access to music is probably just as important for many listeners. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/43 "2022-02-16T01:22:16Z")
This is true. What’s also true, though, is that the basic quality of playback is infinitely better than it was except through the finest stereo systems of old. I constantly hear lyrics of old songs that I never heard when they were new - and that’s certainly not because my hearing has improved. Remastered recordings over even the most basic car stereo systems provide the average listener with better sound today than the vast majority of everyday listening in the 60s or 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/44 "2022-02-16T01:37:49Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > …and who knew that Victor Buono had a recording career… OK, I’ll be the guy. I knew. I have one of his LPs. mmm ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/45 "2022-02-16T02:23:46Z")
Also, my CDs will be playable indefinitely as long as I have the right equipment (and the same is true of the MP3s I’ve downloaded). Streaming services can remove any song at any time, and then you can’t hear it anymore. Yes, that has happened. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/46 "2022-02-16T02:28:51Z")
That makes me think of K-pop albums. They are elaborate packages containing picture books, postcards, posters, etc., and incidentally a CD. They are coveted collectors items but the CDs are rarely played. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/47 "2022-02-16T02:49:08Z")
I don’t even own a turntable (which I should probably do something about), but I have a collection of LPs, both vintage and new music. In this day and age where music is readily available to stream for free or for a small subscription cost, if I want to actually buy an album, I want to have a physical aspect of it that I can hold and display and admire, and since new vinyl almost always comes with a digital copy you can download to your devices without the hassle of burning a CD and transferring the mp3s onto your phone, that’s what I go with. Some of the bands I listen to don’t even release their albums on CD - about five years ago, one group that I’m into released an album exclusively on LP and cassette. (In that case I went with the cassette, as it shipped with a vintage Sony Walkman autographed by the members of the group.) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/48 "2022-02-16T02:59:46Z")
I still have my Discwasher. > **[Amazon.com: Discwasher Vinyl Record Cleaning Brush – Anti-Static, Carbon Fiber...](https://www.amazon.com/Discwasher-Vinyl-Record-Cleaning-Brush/dp/B08B1BP3JR)** > > Amazon.com: Discwasher Vinyl Record Cleaning Brush – Anti-Static, Carbon Fiber Brush. Gently Removes Dust, Dirt, Static and Fingerprints for Improved Sound Quality : Electronics I also have maybe 200 vinyl but I need a new cartridge for the turntable. I wonder if I could get any money for the discs. Some of course are out of print, not available digitally, but mostly they can go. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/49 "2022-02-16T05:31:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Right. And comparing album sales (in whatever format) with streaming seems too apples-and-oranges to me, in at least some respects. Sales of an album, whether on vinyl or cassette or CD or MP3, mean that x number of people paid a one-time charge for a copy of that particular album that they could then listen to for as long and as often as they like. People paying a one-time charge for a copy of that particular album that they could then listen to for as long and as often as they like is obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/50 "2022-02-16T07:23:33Z")
I doubt that people these days are buying records as collectibles and not listening to them. My daughter lives in Chicago, and there are TWO record stores within walking distance of her apartment. The last time I visited her, we went these stores. The stock in both places was a mix of new, shrinkwrapped records and older used ones. They seemed to be doing a brisk business; there were customers flipping through the LPs, just like I remember doing so long ago. It was like we had traveled back in time 40 years. I didn’t buy anything. When my daughter asked me why, I explained that I hadn’t owned a turntable in ten years, and she was shocked. She said that everyone she knows owns a Bluetooth turntable and she assumed that pretty much everybody did. I never imagined that vinyl would make a comeback. I remember that in the 1990s, students would come into the university library where I worked and ask if we had this or that album. I’d check the catalog and say, “Yes, we have that on LP.” They’d burst out laughing and say something like, “You guys still have _records_? What is this, 1950?” ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/51 "2022-02-16T07:24:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is “obsolete” a one-way street? Is it possible for something that once was obsolete to become _un_ -obsolete? Because, to me, it looks like that is what has happened with (vinyl) LPs. I think, in a way, vinyl is less obsolete than other physical mediums now. CDs get you very similar sound quality to a good streaming service and a fairly small cover booklet if you’re lucky. The main benefit of a CD is that you own a physical copy. On the other hand, vinyl has a significantly different sound to a streaming service and people who like that sound won’t get it from anything other than vinyl. Vinyl has a much larger canvas for cover art, lyrics and so on. A CD is like a boring privately owned Toyota Corolla that has been pushed out by a ride sharing service while vinyl is the cool vintage sports car that leaks a bit of oil and takes more looking after but exudes character. The people who used to own the vintage car instead of the Corolla still own the vintage car. Meanwhile some people dissatisfied with the ride sharing service look at the vintage car compared to the Corolla and think, well, if I’m going to own a car, it may as well be cool and full of character. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/52 "2022-02-16T08:15:46Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Let me ask this: are manual transmissions obsolete? There have been automatic transmissions nearly as long as there have been manual ones. Automatic transmissions aren’t an improvement on manual transmissions, they’re a different driving paradigm entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/53 "2022-02-16T13:51:35Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > People paying a one-time charge for a copy of that particular album that they could then listen to for as long and as often as they like is obsolete. Ironic avatar/post combo. > **[Peanuts by Charles Schulz for April 08, 1963 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1963/04/08)** > > Schroeder walks up to Lucy and says, "Buying records cheers me up . . . Whenever I feel low, I buy some records . . ." Schroeder says, "I was so depressed today I bought Mendelssohn's violin concerto, Brahms' second piano concerto and Handel's ode... [![](https://i.imgur.com/Meddk.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/Meddk.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/54 "2022-02-16T13:56:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Ah, so they’re counting paid digital subscription/streaming services as music “sales.” > > That doesn’t seem right to me. You’re not buying music, just access to it. Someone is still buying it, just not the end user. It’s no different than the old days of Blockbuster. The person renting a VHS tape wasn’t buying the cassette, but Blockbuster was. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/55 "2022-02-16T14:10:09Z")
My 50 year old son and his wife are really into the special release vinyl that relates to movies (soundtracks, in other words). This stuff has wild colors and designs and is expensive, and I’m not sure they even play them. They also piss away more money on plastic “collectibles” than some people make. ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/56 "2022-02-16T18:55:57Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I also have maybe 200 vinyl but I need a new cartridge for the turntable. I wonder if I could get any money for the discs. Some of course are out of print, not available digitally, but mostly they can go. I sold part of my LP collection last year. $200 for 60 LP’s. Had I been willing to piss about on a used site I could have got more. But that would have meant having people in & rummaging through to pick what they wanted. I sold them all to a shop that will resell them at retail markup. I bought a new cartridge a couple years ago. My turntable is old, but good. Also replaced the belts a few months ago. Now I have to replace the belt on my carousel CD player. The drawer is sluggish. I have that carousel multi-disk player but mostly use my single play CD player. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/57 "2022-02-22T14:05:42Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > She said that everyone she knows owns a Bluetooth turntable and she assumed that pretty much everybody did. I’m in no way qualified to get into the digital vs. audio wars, but this seems to get you the degrading quality of vinyl with the compression problems of digital via Bluetooth. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/58 "2022-02-23T13:16:44Z")
> [@Keith1](#): > > Vinyl (LP’s) were better in the old days. Then there was an oil crisis during the 70’s and as a result quality of LP’s began to suck. They became much thinner, scratched easily, and wore out more quickly. The vinyl was full of impurities and became more susceptible. to pops & scratches. I respectfully disagree. I’m almost 60 and so grew up with LPs and 45s. I could pull the clear plastic wrapper off of, say, “Close To The Edge” by YES or George Carlin’s “Class Clown”. If I was in my bedroom, which was always marginally filthy, the very act of removing the plastic wrapper and drawing out the LP disk created enough static draw that there was dust on the disk before its maiden voyage on the turntable. Even with the diligent application of both a [ZeroStat gun](https://www.lpgear.com/product/ZEROSTAT.html) and the infamous [Discwasher or Groove Washer](https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/clean-vinyl-records-according-groovewasher/), one still got pops almost from Day 1. Scratches? Well, were I in a slightly altered state when opening said LPs the first time, or were I unlucky enough to have a disk slip from my palms ( because we all knew that the only correct way to handle a disk was to hold the edges between your palms for as much of the carry time as possible ) and slide against furniture or onto the floor, scratches would ensue. Unlike the successful application of a [CD or DVD scratch polishing kit](https://www.lifewire.com/best-cd-repair-kits-4159771), there’s no way to polish out a scratch on an LP. All of this said, the fact that you were getting “virgin vinyl” in earlier years opposed to used or mixed source vinyl later on seems of little consequence in terms of pops or scratches. I readily agree that LP disks DID get thinner as the years went on. Remarkably so. But a surface is a surface is a surface. If someone crafted an LP that could play that was 1 inch thick, it would get just as dusty and be just as prone to scratching as Disk Two of the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever”… 🙂 It well be that newer mixed-source vinyl wore out faster. I’d love to see some data on that. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/59 "2022-02-23T20:08:26Z")
Jefferson Airplane albums in the 1960s were infamous for their hiss, ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528/60 "2022-02-23T21:32:40Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In the 90s, I would have agreed with anyone who claimed that the format was obsolete. You could walk into a “record store” and not be surprised to find no vinyl for sale. But nowadays, enough new LPs are being made and sold and played (not to mention the nontrivial market for used LPs) that I don’t think it’s really fair to call it “obsolete” any longer… Call it a _“comeback album”!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lps-have-been-obsolete-for-such-a-long-time/959528.md?page=4)