In a world of pirating music and downloading MP3s, it’s hard to imagine going from digital to analog. Recently though, people have turned off their iPods and dusted off their records.
With 3.9 million records sold in 2011, vinyl is more than an outdated fad from the past. What used to be the main format for commercial music distribution in the 20th century has become obsolete for the past 10-15 years. The music industry reports prove that vinyl is coming back.
Vinyl records remind some of growing up in a time of nitty-gritty rock ‘n’ roll. For others, records are the things that collect dust in their parents’ garages as memories of yesteryear.
Those who don’t like older music may initially oppose to vinyl. But records have branched off from old school sounds. From Elvis to Lady Gaga, nearly everything is put on vinyl now. Some of the top vinyl artists include The Black Keys, Wilco, and Bon Iver. Older artists making the top sales include the Beatles, Nirvana, and Bob Dylan.
Whether you want to begin a vinyl collection or listen to your parents’ old records, going vinyl seems to be increasingly popular.
The main difference from vinyl to CDs or MP3s is simple: analog versus digital. CDs and MP3s are digital and have the clear quality from computers. Whereas vinyl records played on a turntable are analog, you can hear clicks and skips from the needle hitting the record.
Is starting a vinyl collection worth the money? A decent turntable can be costly. Brand new records can range from 15-40 dollars compared to about 10 bucks for a CD. It might seem pricey, but you can dig through sales bins and even get more with your money.
Where can you get vinyl in Central Florida? Park Ave CDs and Rock and Roll Heaven are two of the top places to find all kinds of music in vinyl, CDs, and even cassette tapes. At Park Ave you can even buy records for as low as three dollars.
In short, vinyl records are becoming increasingly popular. Collecting them can be a great hobby with friends, and playing them can be a great way of bonding with those around you. So dust off those records and crank up the volume.