CD Got Absolutely Crushed By Vinyl

If you owed a forsell air transport mk2 and a stax dac. You wouldn’t say thing like that. on the other hand if you owe old esoteric CD player or Krell then I would agree with your statement 

“A CD player can be had for as little as $100 if your standards aren’t too high. A $500 CD player really doesn’t have much better sound quality, and neither does a $1500 or $3000 CD Player. All you get for that exorbitant price is a little better build quality. As others said, digital is only an imitation, analog is the real and lasting thing“

The OP has preconceived notions about digital playback....nothing we say or suggest otherwise would change his opinion. 
 

I disagree.
Some albums sound better than CDs and some CDs sound better than albums. Depending on mastering of both. 
When I do A-B comparisons of the same album there are advantages and disadvantages to both. I love vinyl, but it's still so much easier to place a CD and listen for up to 75 minutes without have to get up and flip a side.

If the usability is the main reason people use CDs then digital files is far more superior, because you can listen forever and make playlist with the tracks you want to hear ignoring all the "bad" songs on the album you prefer to skip.

For the same reason lazy people just listening to the streming radio stations. For most of those people music is just a background in the headphones while in the subway or in the bus etc. 

Passionate collectors would love to put the record on the turntable and put the needle on the record for serious listening session. Vinyl is a whole different experience, different habit, different world.

CD is retired format of digital media, let’s face it

I’m a diehard vinyl fan, with thousands of records. 
I never really put much effort into CDs. Did appreciate the convenience of them, but didn’t really love the sterilizing.

However, when I hooked up my Oppo to my tube system (mac 275, mac 2200, Harbeth SHL5s) suddenly my CDs sounded pretty goddamned good. Something about the tubes that take the edge of the CDs, in my experience.

And SACDs are pretty mind blowing.