Would vinyl even be invented today?

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!

As a young lad growing up part of my life in Southern California in the mid 1960s many had a transistor radio and a portable suit case style record player in their bedrooms, stacks of 45s and Lps galore,.it was the same for the older generation of kids growing up in the 1950s, portable battery operated vacuum tube radios and early versions of the compact record player for 78 rpm,.
But these technologies can be traced further back,...

Going to the beach on the weekends was a memorable sight , bleach blondes in skimpy bikinis , the surf and the top ten blaring over radios.
music was everywhere and the World bought vinyl, 100s of billions of vinyl records...."...
There are many items we use today or variations of ,some of which changed very little like the slot head screw,,centuries old ,one use and maybe first delveloped to dress in armour .

Didn't Al Gore invent the LP?