Before I got my first iPod in 2006, all I had were CDs and cassette tapes. Heck, I was still making mixtapes on cassette in 2004. I still buy CDs to date for two reasons:
1) because I live in Canada, and there are lots of American record companies that don't want us to be able to purchase their music digitally; so I have to buy stuff on eBay and Amazon and import them, which is sometimes cheaper anyway. As copyright law gets more and more strict in the digital realm, more people seem to be going this route.
and 2) because of the sound quality. I can usually tell the difference between 256 and 320 kbps. For most pop and alternative music, I'm OK with the lesser sound quality, but for most electronic albums, I like to be able to hear every little nuance clear as crystal, or it's just not the same experience.
I think a lot of people are starting to realize that most digital music available for download isn't optimal quality, and iTunes has slowly been upgrading their bit rates over the years for that very reason. Some people buy vinyl to transfer it digitally once, and then they put up the album art for display. No need to listen to it again on a record player once it's on your iPod.
All in all, though, it's just too much work for me to even consider vinyl. Having been employed in the signage business, I know how frustratingly delicate vinyl is. The number of times my CD's have been dropped or narrowly escaped tragedy scares me away from vinyl all together. Although, for people who are reverent enough about certain albums, by all means, it's a nice idea. It shows that you care enough about the recording that you would be willing to go through all the trouble of maintaining it, and I guess enough people agree, so vinyl is making a comeback with hardcore music collectors.
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