Returning to audiophilism after 20 years: a little guidance would be nice :-)

HI Pieter,

All I can say it that audio has significantly changed for the better.  I'm almost 5 years into it after being away for 20 years and I'm a lot closer now to what I was looking for than I've ever been.
To me the most significant change is the availability of measuring microphones and easy to use correction software.

https://darko.audio/2019/08/ten-ways-to-remove-the-room-with-eq/
The above link is a brief overview 
Enjoy the ride

@pieterkadijk- A lot has happened in audio during the 20 years you were "missing":
I don't think there is as much of a "versus" in analog and digital anymore- I'm still primarily vinyl based, but digital seems to have come a long way. I can't speak to streaming but just based on Internet boards like this one, it seems to be a popular way for people to feed their musical habit, and not only for background listening.
Vinyl playback- more tonearms, set up tools and wider variety of associated equipment (cartridges, cable, separate phono stages) than ever.
High-end tape playback has enjoyed a renaissance with 15 IPS two track and "audiophile" issues on tape at a price as well as a thriving underground for dubs. 
Prices- have gone up significantly for whatever is declared the current state of the art, but there is quite a bit of beer budget gear available-- better than entry level sound quality, but without the tariff of the big league stuff. There's also a new generation of listeners--jazz seems to have become popular again (though it is still a niche) among listeners- some great releases on LP from labels like Tone Poet/Blue Note and a new series from Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions, among others, that includes not only the perennials or warhorses, but more offbeat stuff.
DIY-There is also a heathy DIY movement that reaches folks who are not especially technical in background offering upgrades and tweaks at low cost.
Ultrasonic record cleaning- has been in vogue for the last number of years, and as MillerCarbon mentioned above, lots of attention is paid to vibration control, from extremely sophisticated active devices to more basic, lower cost items that can enhance performance. 
I think it is fair to say that audiophiles are still a small fraction of the music listening crowd, but the market is reaching people who might not spend the time in audio salons. Instead, lots of direct sales via Internet with home trial and return rights within a limited time window.
The state of the  brick and mortar audio store is still somewhat precarious, as it was before Covid, but interestingly, with people stuck at home for more than a year, manufacturers and retailers of gear and music have done very well. Supply line shortages may have an impact for a while, though. 
Welcome back! 

      "...the good old days when I was enjoying music on audiophile equipment and being able to hear the soundstage depth, lively pianos and guitars..."

     This is just how I looked at digital vs vinyl, through the first years of digital:
                    Vinyl = Filet Mignon and digital = hamburger.

      I never owned a CDP until around 1991, when I bought a decent Denon unit.    

      My next move was a tubed California Audio Labs, Delta/Sigma II combo. Then an Alpha 96/24 upgrade, which were revelatory when combined with the improved digital recording methods, of those days.   OH: and a 1.5m Kimber Orchid AES/EBU.  Tried a .5m first and it proved unlistenable.

                      More of a good Ribeye, than hamburger.

       The move to my BAT VK-D5, with some well-selected Siemens tubes; has me enjoying the Prime Rib of digital reproduction.

        I can thoroughly enjoy either a good Filet or Prime Rib, any day of the week!

But I am interested in the current vinyl vs digital discussion (has digital/streaming earned its place compared to vinyl, does it hold its own) so I can start exploring in a good direction.

IMO, Digital vs analog has not really advanced since the early 2000's. Instead of CD players, now it is streaming that mostly represents digital. However, IMO, trying to stream your own library is quite difficult. Because of this, many choose to rent their music via Qubuz, etc. because their have an interface that works. For me, this is a deal breaker. I have no desire to spend $20  a month for music that I already have. The music sounds good when I get it to play but the CD often sounds better and the vinyl blows it outta the water. If you are going to try streaming your own library, I'd suggest a streamer which has its own hard drives (NAS). Otherwise there are too many pieces in the chain that have to communicate. 

I'm old enough to have lived through a lot of format changes and it usually  more about the Mfg's making $$$ from a new product, rather than a great sonic leap forward. Its usually about convenience. And streaming is very convenient. You don't even have to buy music, just rent theirs for $20 mo.     Now. What will it be 5-10 yrs down the road? I remember CATV when it was new. It was cheap too.....and convenient. Now its $200 mo with 350 channels of pure crap to watch.  And the wheel goes round & round. The more that things change, the more they stay the same. 

As someone who has actively avoided digital music for 32 years, my perception is that there have been changes in digital audio that have encouraged me to build a digital front end in the past year to both stream digital music as well as listen to local files. Streaming music is not only convenient, but my experience has been that there have also been improvements in the sound quality of digital music especially in the area of reducing digital harshness. 

In terms of the quality of streaming services, I can recommend Qobuz as sounding the best with Primephonic (for classical) being second best. Third choice for me would be Spotify Premium. Tidal is the worst sounding streaming service in my opinion.

Feel free to send me a message if you want to know what I've learned in the past year about putting together a digital front end. I've found that getting digital to sound good can be as complex as getting a turntable to sound good.