There’s something about placing your first record on the turn table and hearing those pops and crackles of perceptible music. It’s right there. The black vinyl disk spins off music, but not quite any type of music you’ve yet heard.

For me, that first time was last week and I’m already hooked.

It started with a trip to South Street, where walking along the street lined with miscellaneous shops, a poster of a favorite band of mine, alt-j, caught my eye in a store window.

Looking again, I realized it wasn’t even a window; the front glass panes were plastered with posters of bands and album covers from past and present. It might as well have had my name written all over it.

Upon entering the store named Repo Records, I found it pretty crowded. But what really amazed me was the sheer quantity of records that packed the store. I was a kid in a candy store. Fascinated by something that I’ve always heard of but never actually touched or used, I bought two brand new vinyl albums.

Just yesterday, I traveled down to Main Street of North Wales to a small shop I’ve driven by thousands of times, but never visited before. Established three years ago, The Vinyl Closet was my next stop. It was just as new and exciting as the vinyl treasure chest I found in Philly, but much closer to home. And so the trend continued… I bought 4 more records. The best part? I spent less than three dollars on a handful of used albums by classic artists such as Simon and Garfunkel and Frank Sinatra. And they sound great.

However, as I realized that I was beginning my vinyl collection, the question I had to ask myself was why did it take me until now to discover this old, but yet authentic and intimate type of music?

It’s a simple answer. The vinyl business has been jolted back to life. Vinyl collectors of past decades are currently gaining ground on the music scene, creating a snowballing crusade against years of CD dominance. But without a receptive audience, this comeback would never have started. A new generation of record listeners has arrived, eager as ever to uncover a fresh form of music.

These days, most major and even smaller record labels are releasing vinyl. For instance the French electronica duo Daft Punk released Random Access Memories in May of 2013 on LP (short for long play), and a surprising six percent of all sales were on vinyl.

Jack White released his album Lazaretto this year, achieving a new a high for the most first-week vinyl sales since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. In all, White sold over 400,000 LP copies.

Alongside the artists in favor of the LP, the reinvigorated record manufacturers are also loving the record comeback.

Some record companies are selling hundreds of thousands of LP albums per year, while some of those companies don’t even have to advertise. The market is calling for another vinyl age, and as they say, the customer is always right.

Despite the surge of success for the record, there is a limit for vinyl expansion as of now. CDs, even though decreasing in sales, are still around and most likely will not be replaced for a while. At the top of the list is digital downloads, through companies such as Amazon and iTunes. These sales are increasing since the accessibility is extremely easy.

No one, including myself, can say that vinyl sales will surpass those of digital downloading. But what the music community can’t deny is that vinyl records are certainly making a comeback. With the stats and most importantly the listeners behind them, records will continue to spin off great sounds in the years to come.

CDs beware; vinyl is coming for you.