When people think of an outdated way to listen to music they may automatically think of a CD. In fact some people may not even know what came before the compact disc or cassette tape, or even know how to use a record player. Before iPods, the CD, or cassette tapes there were vinyl records.
A vinyl is more commonly referred to as a record, or analog, long-playing records. This piece of music history has been available for more than 100 years, although records weren’t always made of vinyl. Up until about 1948 records were made with material such as shellac and rubber, but these records often became too brittle and would break, and thus the use of vinyl came into play.
Some people may argue that the reason for vinyl records making a comeback is the difference in sound quality.
Senior Mathias Andel believes that vinyl has more to offer than an mp3 or CD, because of the significant difference in sound.
“Vinyl has so much soul, you can taste it.” Andel said. “It has the authentic sound that I feel the artist intended for it, I don’t think that mp3 even compares.”
Although, mp3 is meant to have a clear tone and higher quality, some people may see it as lacking the character that vinyl has. What separates vinyl from other sources of music is that it is taken straight from the studio where the music is perfected by engineers and then etched into the lacquer of the vinyl. This process gives a different tone than what  listeners would be able to get with a digital file of music.
Analog is usually preferred over digital by people who love classic sounding records.
“Analog recordings evoke great nostalgia, it’s like living decades before your time, when music was music and not all digitalized,” Andel said.
For some people there is something that makes it worth going out and buying a vinyl for $20 instead of just simply paying $10 to download the digital copy from iTunes.
Senior Alex Copeland is one of those individuals who is willing to spend a little extra money and the time to go out and buy the vinyl at a record store.
“It’s the experience I get of putting on a record that you just can’t get with an mp3, that makes it worth listening to,” Copeland said.
In ways some people believe that vinyl comes with more music, and what that means is that the mp3 is essentially the most stripped down version of the music that the buyer can get, because it is so compressed.
“It’s not really that it sounds better, it’s just that it adds almost another layer to the music like with the size of the record. You can almost feel the music,” Copeland said.
The most significant difference that few people can hear is in the sound of the vinyl, something that the mp3 doesn’t offer because of the difference in frequency.
Junior Ment Morris is fortunate enough to be able to tell the difference and hear the different frequencies.
“Mp3 file sound nowhere near as good as vinyl or cds. Mp3 compresses the sound and takes out high, mid, and low frequencies; making each song sound flat,” Morris said.
For senior Eric Ross it isn’t just the sound that is appealing to him. Vinyl records have become more valuable over time, as many things do; but as a collector they have even more value than just money to Ross.
“I started collecting vinyl because I wanted to have classic albums in their true intended from,” Ross said. “I also collect vinyl records so when I’m old and wrinkly I can look back and see the albums I loved when I was kid.”
When purchasing a vinyl people tend to get more than what they see. Each package is different and has a specific style of products in it.
“My favorite thing about having vinyl is all the goodies that they come with,” Ross said. “When you buy vinyl, it comes with lyric sheets, sometimes posters and stickers, etc. You also get to see the artwork in really big form.”
Vinyl has an immense variety of styles, layouts, and colors. The typical color is classic black, but over the years record companies have put out more unique and creative records.
Some collectors prefer colored vinyl because of their rarity as well as their look.
“The best genre to collect in my opinion is metal, because metal bands tend to put out really brightly colored vinyls instead of just black,” Ross said.