Would vinyl even be invented today?

If someone woke today in a non vinyl world and dreamed it up today, they would certainly say "yeah, but there's no decent new music to record on it." Then rollover and go back to sleep.

Coming from a Wilco fan....

Kids these days. They don't understand that when I was young even the worst musician farted better sounds than people hear now.

Probably not...the era of actually dedicating time to listen to an Lp side uninterrupted not to mention physically playing a record...although not extinct...is a somewhat forgotten, nostalgic time for most... even with those that grew up with lps...time constraints, lifestyle changes, portability, etc have changed the landscape a bit...although vinyl is holding on...we live in a different world then the 70s as far as entertainment choices...internet, gaming, HDTV, sports galore

There are many things that endure today that were invented in another time, things that might not be conceived of today that were borne of the best technology of that particular time. The LP is the culmination of Edison's original invention 137 years ago. The piano evolved out of other keyboard instruments 200 years ago and developed about as far as it can go around 1910.

If the automobile were invented today, the government would almost certainly deem it too dangerous for public use and prevent it from being licensed and sold, except perhaps to an elite few.

I lived in Boston for about a year, and one particularly cold, blustery day, a co-worker arrived in the morning and announced, "I swear, if the Pilgrims had landed in California, New England would still be uninhabited."

Often situations and things are the result of a mindset, a need, a time, and a place. Change any of those things and the "thing" probably wouldn't have happened that way. The LP is just one of those many things.

The Lp stemmed from an era where individuals set aside time to listen to music...and not just audiophiles...folks with meager systems as well...it morphed a bit in the 70s when classic rock ruled the airwaves...and music became more social than solitary...the huge live concerts aimed...at partying youth...boomboxes at the beach blasting FM...I was bit too young to really enjoy this era...I came in at the tail end so I'm more of an 80s child (gasp)....but it was fun!