Everyone thought Vinyl Records would become obsolete when Compact Disks were introduced as the new medium of recording. They were supposed to have gone out of production years ago, but instead have continued their popularity among serious audiophiles through the many technological changes in the music industry.

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Although many music devices on the market today, such as the iPod, can fit thousands of songs into a space the size of a credit card. Why does the Vinyl Record have such a romantic quality that some people still prefer to listen to them over and over?

There is a certain amount of ceremony that must be followed, and form that must be practiced in the act of playing a record. You must take extra care not to scratch the surface of your LP, and you must keep it clean. Many young people seem to enjoy the ritual involved in playing vinyl records that is missing with many digital music formats.

Collecting vinyl records is an obsession for die hard enthusiasts. They track down rare albums hidden away in the attics and basements of even their most distant relatives and friends. Still others prefer a less extreme approach, and are happy to own a limited selection of favorite artists on vinyl for their listening enjoyment.

Many record labels abandoned vinyl production in 1991 to accomodate the growing demand for Compact Discs. Since then, albums that are now "out of print" in vinyl are becoming more and more rare with each passing year. It can be quite adventurous to visit the many garage sales, flea markets, thrift stores, and even antique stores to search for the next addition to one's record collection. You can hardly match the enjoyment of digging through dusty boxes full of old albums of nearly forgotten music artists, or the pride you feel upon finding a particularly interesting record, or just one that you have been searching for high and low. But, as with any collection, there will always be at least one record on your "must have" list that you haven't found yet.

Collecting vinyl is a monetary investment for some people. As the years go by, the rarity of vinyl record albums will continue to increase along with their value. Because, vinyl requires special care and handling, albums are easily damaged or destroyed by mistreatment.

Perhaps more importantly, vinyl records are an integral part of pop culture for most of the twentieth century. The Rock'n'Roll era certainly would not have been the same without vinyl lp's and singles. So, it is a great privelege to help preserve the art, and the music of this very important cultural phenomenon.

As a side note, album cover art has always been highly sought after as a collectable item, and is an intrinsic part of the increasing value of record albums through the years. Effective cover designs conveyed the mood of the music, and provided visual cues that stimulated the listeners imagination along with sound of the music. The genre of album cover art is too rich and broad to cover in depth here, but some classic album covers come to mind like Journey's "Escape", Styx "Paradise Theater" and Boston's "Boston". These examples are vibrant and full of meanigful imagery.

Some bands even licensed works by world renowned artists to design the album covers for them, including the southern rock band Molly Hatchet, who used Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo prints for their albums' cover art.

The rich warm sound of a well preserved vinyl LP is what really makes them so desireable, and preferrable to other forms of recording. Digital sound reproduction may someday be able to match the fidelity and nuance of an analog recording, but not today. For that reason the vinyl record has enjoyed a revival since 2008, with new albums coming into production in the vinyl format. With new releases on vinyl LP from bands like The Black Eyed Peas and The Dave Matthews Band.