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Is Classic Rock the #1 Music People Listen to on Vinyl?
Post By: Alan
As some of you may have noticed, I have a little poll set up on the right hand side of Vinyl Revinyl, and in the 2+ years, the site has been online, I’ve been collecting your responses. One of the questions I’ve asked my visitors is what music you like to listen to on vinyl. Amazingly, out of the hundreds of thousands of visitors I’ve received, I’ve only been able to get 169 votes (woo hoo!) on this topic, but I think I think the results are interesting.
The number one choice was classic rock, with 32% (54) of the votes. This makes sense to me. When I look back on all of the music that was released during the vinyl era (1940 – 1990), the 60’s and 70’s seem to be a period where people were listening to more recorded music, and the rock music of the time was very popular, even today. In my opinion, there is no better way than to experience classic rock than by listening to it on the format of the day: vinyl records.
The next most common style of music that people like to listen to is jazz, with 21% (35) of the votes. Jazz was also popular during the vinyl era, and listening to it on vinyl is a great way to experience the music. I personally believe that jazz truly sounds better on vinyl because certain instruments (the trumpet, especially) sound too harsh when played back from digital sources. It’s no wonder why the audiophile who likes jazz chooses vinyl: It simply sounds better.
Number 3 is Indie and Alternative rock, with 9% (16) votes. This is interesting, because what I consider Indie and Alternative didn’t come in to existence until the very tail-end of the vinyl era. Most of this music was never even released on vinyl, although, in recent years there has been an amazing amount of brand new music coming out on vinyl. In addition to getting the record, many of these albums also offer free digital downloads, so you get the record for home, and can take the music with you in the car or on your MP3 player.
The next most popular music is R&B, Soul and Funk, with 9% (15) of the votes. Like classic rock, much of the most popular R&B, Soul and Funk was released right in the middle of the vinyl era during the 60’s and 70’s. Listening to it on vinyl is another fantastic way to relive the nostalgia of hearing it back then. Out of the R&B/Soul/Funk culture came the DJ as well as Hip Hop, and the vinyl record has been an important part of both of these developments.
Moving down the list, we have Electronic music with 8% (13) of the votes; Hip Hop and Rap with 7% (11) of the votes; Classical music with 6% (10) of the votes; Country and Folk with 5% (8) of the votes; and lastly, Pop with 3% (7) of the votes.
So, now you know! It looks like classic rock is the most popular music being listened to on vinyl. If you run a record company, I think now is the time to ramp up your reissues of famous classic rock albums. Jazz labels never really stopped issuing vinyl because of the audiophile community, but it would be nice to see some of the classics more available. Alternative rock is one of the more popular types of music being consumed today, and with record companies concerned about piracy, vinyl may be a great way to continue to sell albums traditionally and profitably.
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Topics: Music, Vinyl Info | No Comments »