The Vinyl Record

In 1930, RCA Victor launched the first commercially-available vinyl long-playing record, marketed as "Program Transcription" discs. These revolutionary discs were designed for playback at 331/3 rpm and pressed on a 12" diameter flexible plastic disc. During and after World War II when shellac supplies were extremely limited, some 78 rpm records were pressed in vinyl instead of shellac, particularly the six-minute 12" 78 rpm records produced by V-Disc were distributed to US troops in World War II. Beginning in 1939, Columbia Records continued the development of this technology in hopes of creating an inexpensive and reliable consumer playback system. Eventually the 12" rpm LP prevailed as the predominant format for musical albums and the 7" or "single" established a significant niche for shorter duration discs containing one song on each side. In today's world, although digital audio technology has improved, some still prefer the pristine sound and character of a vinyl record.

One of the most expensive records ever sold was by the Velvet Underground and it cost $25,000. The rare disc which is believed to be the only copy, contained early versions of the songs that would eventually appear on The Velvet Underground & Nico, which is considered to be one of the most important rock and roll records in history.

There is a difference between colored & black vinyl. Colored records are considered very valuable for collectors because they are harder to find than black vinyls. Colored discs will degrade faster when you play them and attain more pops.

The first 12-inch recording was Beethoven's Fifth Symphony performed by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. In 1931, RCA Victor introduced a long-playing record for home use. This 12 inch disc was used for "serious" classical music, promised to provide a quieter playing surface and could hold up to 15 minutes per slide.

There is a record for aliens to listen to on the Voyager spacecraft. In 1977, when both Voyager spacecraft were launched, NASA included a record called the "Voyager Golden Record" which contains music, sound and images chosen to portray life on Earth. The mix tape includes songs of birds and whales, spoken greetings in 55 ancient and modern languages and a musical selection of Beethoven, Bach, Chuck Berry and Blind Willie Johnson.

Though its popularity faded in the '80s, in 2008 vinyl sales nearly doubled ending the year officially at 1.88 million copies marking the format's sudden comeback. A range of rock favorites led the charge like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and Radiohead's "OK Computer".

National Record Store Day is on April 18th, a day where you can join and celebrate the enduring importance and coolness of the independent record store. Record Store Day is a global event, with special vinyl and CD releases made exclusively for release on RSD.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the album selling the most copies in the United States is Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a close second followed by the White Album. In addition, there have been 20 singles that topped the Billboard Hot 100, there have been 19 albums that made No.1 the Billboard album charts. In the UK, The Beatles topped the charts with fifteen different albums.