As a casual buyer of a few vinyl records, I feel they're mostly popular for two reasons: 1. physical aesthetic reasons 2. audiophile selection simplicity w.r.

As a casual buyer of a few vinyl records, I feel they're mostly popular for two reasons: 1. physical aesthetic reasons 2. audiophile selection simplicity w.r.t. dynamic range (a higher ratio of available vinyl has reasonable DR characteristics compared to CDs/downloads)[0] ... number 2 above is more oft-cited, but I think number 1 above is significant (probably moreso). Anyone investing not just money, but also space and inconvenience (they're not "synced" to all your devices, it's more difficult to listen to tapes/CDs/vinyl while running or driving) in any physical media is doing so at least in part because of the physical nature of that object, and CDs are just not in any way an aesthetic object. Even casettes are much moreso, in a DIY/retro way. [0] http://dr.loudness-war.info/ http://dr.loudness-war.info/