Wired has an interesting piece up in which they analyze the current vinyl market'''s effect on CDs''and address (buy into?) the notion that, after quite the hiatus, vinyl may be ''"poised to re-enter the mainstream.''"
Their basic hypothesis is that the combination of 1.) A new generation'''s growing distaste for poor MP3 compressions, 2.) The increasingly obsolete virtue in CD portability, and 3.) The Tipping Point-esque trendsetting power of indie elitists and DJ'''s alike, together could be enough to nudge vinyl from its current niche status toward a second life as a mainstream consumer item.
Says Wired: ''"Golden-eared audiophiles have long testified to vinyl's warmer, richer sound. And now demand for vinyl is on the rise. Pressing plants that were already at capacity are staying there, while others are cranking out more records than they did last year in order to keep pace with demand.''"
That, or more and more people are wising up to Chapter 17 of my Life Theory, which states that ''"On the list of '''things that can instantly afford one the simultaneous sonic, moral, and sexual high-ground of a Greek God''', few items match the sheer power or grace of '''giving iTunes the middle finger.'''''" [Wired]