Vinyl records are getting back in the spin

Vinyl records are like fruits and vegetables, insists Saul Moss. "When they're in season, you've got to have it, and when they're not, you get rid of them," said Moss, owner of Cleveland's Downtown Records & Tapes, which sells new records of current and oldies styles.

Seduced by compact discs and byte-sized digital formats, music fans found the 1980s and '90s the ripe time to abandon the classic audio format. Moss saw his store's vinyl inventory dwindle from 95 percent of all its merchandise when it opened in 1950 to 5 percent earlier this decade.

But recently, the season for vinyl records has returned, bringing with it reborn vinyl fanatics and a new generation of addicts, say Moss and other sellers throughout Northeast Ohio.

"We saw an increase in sales starting about five years ago," said Rob Pryor, general manager of Cleveland Heights' Record Revolution, which has been in business since 1968. The store sells used records.

"We definitely get more and more people coming in for vinyl," Pryor said.

The most recent sales report from the Recording Industry Association of America shows the U.S. music industry sold 36.6 percent more extended-play and long-play records in 2007 than it did in 2006. That upswing increased vinyl-record sales revenue by 46.2 percent, taking a toll on CD sales revenue, which decreased 20.5 percent during the same period.

Collectors seek vinyl for the album art. DJs get them to scratch. But many people turn to the format for its audio quality.

"The analog sound of vinyl is where it's at, because the digital sound is just a reproduced sound. Analog might have a couple of crackles and pops, but on a good system, it sounds like the band is right in the room for you," Pryor said.

Other signs point to the revival of the classic format that emerged in the 1930s, when RCA launched the first commercially available long-playing record.

When Radiohead's album "In Rainbows" came out in October, Music Saves in Cleveland sold more of it on vinyl than on CD.

Coffeehouses and lounges in cities such as Portland, Ore., are featuring vinyl-record listening sessions. Stores like Urban Outfitters are selling portable record players.

Last fall, Amazon.com started a vinyl-only section. Vinyl-record pressing plants are ramping up production, and some musicians, such as Hell's Information from Akron and other indie-rock bands, are selling albums primarily on vinyl.

Events such as Record Store Day in April and Vinyl Record Day this Tuesday celebrate the vinyl culture.

"One main reason for the vinyl resurgence among the younger people is [that] labels offer free digital downloads with the purchase of their records," said Kevin Neudecker, co-owner of Music Saves, which carries 10 times more new and used vinyl than it did when it opened in 2004.

"That crowd gets disappointed and mad now if they can't get the coupon for the free download."

Used vinyl records cost $1 to $12 at Music Saves, while new recordings there sell for $12 to $30, co-owner Melanie Hershberger said. Compared with prices for new CDs ($10-$24) and MP3s ($1 for a single on iTunes), new vinyl can be a little more expensive, but people are willing to shell out a few more dollars for the analog sound it produces, owners agreed.

Out West, an organization called the Vinyl Preservation Society of Idaho meets each month to promote the format's history and foster activity within the industry. At one meeting, members brought CDs, MP3s and records to see which sounded the best. They preferred the warmer audio from the turntables.

Cleveland's John Richmond, an avid jazz record collector for more than 50 years, agrees. "I could play you example after example of LPs that sound much better than the reissued CD versions of the same music," he said.

Richmond, 65, never lost faith in vinyl records. He's been a fan ever since his father first played him turntable tunes in 1948. The walls of his house in Cleveland are lined with album covers, and he's a member of the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors.

Last week, he stopped into Record Revolution and bought a few vinyl records, including ones from jazz artists Don Patterson and Jimmy Smith. He isn't quite sure where the vinyl-record industry is heading either.

"If more people give up vinyl, the more there will be for me to buy," he said jokingly. "On the other hand, when -- if -- I want to get rid of my collection, I want people out there who want to buy them."

Adam Gravatt, who is part of the newer generation of vinyl admirers and manager of the Record Exchange in Cleveland, which mainly sells used vinyl, has a different thought.

"I don't think vinyl records will ever go away," the 23-year-old said.

[Cleveland]