Back in Black

Vinyl's superior sonic qualities endear it to audiophiles, while younger people are beguiled by its aesthetics - not least of all the album covers

The march of progress often tramples viable older tech underfoot, only for it to make a comeback later. The boom in artificial fabrics such as nylon, polyester and neoprene last century was followed by a return to cotton, wool and silk, eliciting in many a sigh of relief and comfort. Could vinyl records be set to do the same?

As streaming and digital downloads have become dominant in our "connected world", the compact disc has gone the way of the dodo. This is partly because new computers rarely come with CD players built in, but also because the tangible aspects of CDs, such as the flimsy plastic and paper packaging, hardly inspire devotion. For those who want to hold and feel their music, old-style records are rapidly replacing CDs.