Many of todays youngsters won’t even know what a vinyl record is (that in itself is a scary thought).

OK, so there may be a “generation gap”, but did you know that only a small percentage of vinyl has been recorded to CD for the consumer?

You have a great CD and mp3 collection, but just think of all the music you will never hear.

Audio aficionados will often state that Vinyl is the best. CDs have gotten good at the sound dynamics, but there are such limits on CD that most audio consumers never really know about. But vinyl, like with all analog, has highs that can keep going and lows and keep going. Translating to a digital format on CD disallows the infinite structure of analog, so the sound is fitted to a narrower bandwidth. So the highs are only so high, and the lows are only so lows.

So the arguments go around like willy willies about the sound quality of vinyl vs CD’s vs MP3 vs the newest brightest bells and whistles technology but that’s why collecting vinyl is worth the time, effort and the few bucks you spend on classic pieces of black wax …. you have a chance to hear artists who have not “made the cut”.

Then there’s the album art. It’s worth collecting in its own right. Not too many CD covers from memory managed to break new ground when it came to artwork and as for simply downloading – well sure its convenient – but imagine if The Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden or Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell was ever simply a download?

Don’t get me wrong – I own an ipod I compile my playlists – but nothing beats finding that long lost album or 45 when rumaging through boxes at garage sales and fairs.

An audiophile – perhaps? Longing for a slice of my lost youth – perhaps?

Listening to a vinyl record, holding it, looking at the lyric sheet or the artwork, was a listening experience that no IPod can reproduce. Going to your friend’s house who had the good turntable was an excuse for a groovy party, with music on all night. And everyone listening.