If a tenth of the clinical care that was a necessary adjunct of CD production had gone into making commercial vinyl in the seventies and eighties, so that the standard finished product had been more reliable, things might have been different, but the majors couldn't wait to kill off vinyl. Far less storage space, far less raw material (particularly crucial during the oil troubles of the seventies) "indistructible" (not), far less likely to be damaged in transit (apart from the cases): sound per se was never a consideration at all. The first CD players sounded horrendous, but people were still falling over each other in order to get one first. Some of the early discs sounded awful, particularly string sound; 'dessicated' and 'glaring' were the two descriptions which arose most frequently. But Britain's biggest-selling record review magazine promoted the whole medium fervently (so fervently indeed that it gained the nick-name "Polygram News" in the trade) and most of the music buying public fell hook, line and sinker. In the Hi-Fi shop where I worked part-time between (and often during) engagements we found that the main difference was that our sales of high-end turntables went up, as people with a lot of vinyl started to realise that they had a treasure-trove of wonderful sounding material which would soon be irreplaceable, and they wanted to enjoy it at its best.

 It isn't always perfect, but LP analogue sound seems to have a humanity which is strikingly different to the rather clinical CD sonic footprint: it needs much more preparation and care, but the rewards are greater. I love the analogy made early on by Colin Butler, one of the most passionately involved of London-based record dealers: he suggested that the difference between the CD experience and that of vinyl was very like the difference between a microwaved ready-meal and a home cooked meal prepared from scratch: one you just slam in and consume while the other needs preparation and care: it may bring more variable results, but at its best is truly satisfying.

There are places where vinyl never went away .....

http://www.therecordalbum.com/index.htm

  I do agree with you, Donna Elvira.     In addition, a box set contains a substantial and easy to read libretto, invariably well illustrated.    I have carefully looked after all my box sets, particularly the three  sets of the Record of Singing which includes Michael Scott's invaluable book; the EMI set of The Record of Singing, Vols I - IV; EMIs Wagner on Record and several sets of Introuvables...; a treasured 5 LP set of Sibelius Songs on Argo - Elisabeth Soderstrom, Tom Krause, Irwin Gage, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Carlos Bonell.   Reaching for a favourite box set, or LP, gives the same pleasure as handling a book.

That's just one of the LPs, is it?

Should be an intriguing listen!