
The WSJ reports that the biggest comeback of 2014 was vinyl records:
Nearly eight million old-fashioned vinyl records have been sold this year, up 49% from the same period last year, industry data show. Younger people, especially indie-rock fans, are buying records in greater numbers, attracted to the perceived superior sound quality of vinyl and the ritual of putting needle to groove.
But while new LPs hit stores each week, the creaky machines that make them haven’t been manufactured for decades, and just one company supplies an estimated 90% of the raw vinyl that the industry needs. As such, the nation’s 15 or so still-running factories that press records face daily challenges with breakdowns and supply shortages.
Their efforts point to a problem now bedeviling a curious corner of the music industry. The record-making business is stirring to life—but it’s still on its last legs.
The top selling vinyl album of 2014 was Jack White‘s brilliant disc, Lazaretto.


For Christmas this year, I am getting a record player; I’ve not owned one since high school (mid-80s). Not sure how completely I’ll throw myself into Vinyl Collection Mode, but I am going to be scouring for vinyl more often in the thrift stores.
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I will always prefer CD’s to vinyl, but i do miss the packaging of the old LP’s.
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