In the 1980s, phonograph use declined sharply due to the popularity of cassettes and the rise of the compact disc, as well as the later introduction of digital music distribution in the 2000s, both audio file downloads and streaming.
Record players became extremely popular in the 60s and 70s when Dual released the first turntables to provide stereo playback. High-fidelity sound reproduction hit the scene and motivated countless people to add a record player to their home.
The Hip Hop Scene
In the 1980s and 1990s, hip hop DJs found a new way to use turntables by connecting audio mixers and using their hands to scratch the vinyl against the stylus in order to produce a totally new sound.
The popularity of vinyl waned in the 1980s as digital formats began to take over. CDs were introduced in 1982 and quickly became the preferred format for music listening. In 1988, Sony released the first portable digital music player, the Walkman. This made it even easier to listen to music without a record player.
The golden age of vinyl records, which spanned from the 1950s to the 1980s, is widely regarded as a defining period in the history of recorded music. During this time, vinyl records were at the forefront of popular culture, influencing fashion, art, and societal values.
Over the past decade, vinyl records have made a major comeback. People purchased US$1.2 billion of records in 2022, a 20% jump from the previous year.
the dominance of vinyl records from 1973 to the mid-1980s. the fall of 8-track tape sales starting in the late 1970s as cassette tapes entered the market and overtook LP sales by the mid-1980s and remained the dominant format until 1993.
To put it simply – yes, cheap turntables can ruin your vinyl records. While this won't be the case for every model out there, the risk certainly does increase if the turntable has been made with cheap materials.
Separation between the left and right channels on vinyl is 30dB, compared to digital files which exceed 90dB. This gives vinyl a far more limited soundstage compared to its digital counterpart.
In the company's recent “Top Entertainment Trends for 2023” report, Luminate found that “50% of consumers who have bought vinyl in the past 12 months own a record player, compared to 15% among music listeners overall.”
Data from the Recording Industry Association of America shows vinyl sales began to pick up again in the mid-2000s and Luminate's latest year-end report shows 43.5 million records being sold in the U.S. in 2022. Local record shops say they've seen that vinyl resurgence here in Utah.
The radio boom of the 1920s hits the record market hard. Combination home systems started to become more popular, including inbuilt amplification, speaker units and, of course, radio. These were record-players.
Vinyl record sales boomed throughout the 1960s and 1970s; per the Recording Industry Association of America, LP and extended play, or EP, sales peaked in 1978 at 341.3 million units sold, making up 47 percent of the total sales volume of all music formats.
Superior Sound
The music and vocals or closer to the way artists sound live, with a lossless format that isn't overly compressed. And most songs are mastered with better dynamics than CD or digital, so you hear more of the dynamic range.
In the late 70's to early 80's, Record companies began to sell 12″ singles on the 33 1/3rpm format to the general public, which were usually an extended version of the 45rpm single. Before then, Labels usually just made a 45 with parts 1 and 2.
Over ten million vinyl recordings were sold in the U.S. last year, but these sales don't come close to meeting the numbers of fifty years ago, when vinyl was supreme. Most homes of the 1960s had a record player, either a large console cabinet or a smaller portable player.
Not just the wear and tear of vinyl that will degrade playback quality over time, but the physical limitations. For example, a longer album will require slimmer grooves, creating a quieter sound and more noise as the needle moves through them.
Audio signal compression isn't really an issue with vinyl record playback. You are hearing what the artist intended when they recorded, mixed and mastered their album. Vinyl playback is a much better representation of the actual sound the artist recorded in the studio.
The more you use your records, the more they will deteriorate. Like anything physical, the friction between two surfaces will gradually add wear and tear (in this case the contact of the stylus on the record's grooves). On top of this, you'll also have the handling of the records and how often you move them around.
Only hold the vinyl record at its outer edges, thereby avoiding the possibility of your body oils transferring onto the vinyl's surface. If you touch the record's surface, you increase the risk of getting dirt on the record and damaging it unnecessarily.
Currently, all vinyl records are made from Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC -- described by Greenpeace as "the most environmentally damaging plastic", whose production releases toxic, chlorine-based chemicals that are "building up in the water, air and food chain."
The needles that are usually packaged on these all-in-one suitcases are cheap and will have a tendency to scratch and damage your records beyond repair. These scratches will not only show up visibly on your discs, they'll appear sonically as pops and cracks that crowd out the music.
Compact discs are the latest obsolete music format to be revived. Here's how we got to know them the first time around four decades ago.
Compact Cassette tapes remain in production as of 2022 and survive as a niche format, continuing to receive some new music releases.
The Compact Cassette really hit its peak in the 1980's, but was quickly surpassed in the 90's by compact disc (CD) sales. By the early 2000's, cassette tapes had become almost nonexistent, with more album releases occurring solely on vinyl or CD.