A recurring theme in these articles seems to be that vinyl is alive and well, and preferred by many over the sterile sound of CDs and computer sound files. I'm not so sure.

I started buying records in 1966, back when they were the only game in town. I still have most of the vinyl I bought since then.

Many items are of sentimental value, and some are not available on CD or other digital formats. So I'm keeping my vinyl.

But, over the past 10 years or so, I started buying records at thrift stores and from individuals through the mail with an eye toward selling them to collectors. Although I've managed to sell dozens of records to dozens of people, either at record shows, via advertising, or on eBay, over the past couple of years it's become painfully clear to me that the demand for vinyl is pretty much gone, except perhaps for the rarest, most unusual pieces.

For example, I have two copies of Bob Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks", one with the more common back cover and one with the rare mural back cover. There's one mural back on eBay right now, with a bid of 99 cents. Dylan collectors are not exactly beating each other back over this thing. There are many other examples of LPs I've wanted to sell, and seen dozens of them listed on eBay, with either very few or zero bids.

I once had a beautiful group of nine original-pressing Frank Sinatra LPs in marvelous condition. I figured if I grouped them into one lot and auctioned them on eBay, they'd sell for a decent price. WRONG! The lot got one lousy bid and sold for $9, a buck apiece! Where were all the vinyl aficionados / Sinatra collectors? For me, they were nowhere.

I still have plenty of records I'd like to sell, but, because of lack of demand, I'm going to end up either selling them to a recycle shop for maybe a dime apiece, if I'm lucky, or donating them to Goodwill for a small tax deduction. There really isn't a robust demand for vinyl, in my opinion.

Yes, there is some new or recent music being issued on vinyl. The most recent example I can recall are the Beatles' 1995 releases, and there was also an Elvis Presley set of 45s issued
around that time. But if vinyl's so hot today, where exactly is it being sold? Certainly not in stores...

And if you search for it on line you may be able to find plenty of new pressings of old music, but the price is pretty steep.

The oft-stated belief that vinyl's sound quality is better than CD or sound files can be debated as

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