Home Record Players

Record players are mechanical devices that generate sound by playing some sort of specially grooved disc, usually made out of vinyl.1 Record players evolved from the phonograph which used a cylinder to produce sound instead of a disc.1 Record players have been around since the early 1900s.1

In the 1920's radio technology had improved to the point where so many people bought radios that the phonograph business took a sharp dive in sales.1 The introduction of long playing records and 45s which played two songs dramatically improved the sales of record players.1 By the 1960s music lovers could listen to their favorite songs on portable record players that could be bought cheaply in local stores.

Record players maintained their popularity in the 1970s due to terrific advances in high fidelity.1 Record players were and extremely popular way to play music and other types of records until the introduction and growing popularity of the CD player in the 1980's gradually replaced record players as a primary way to play music.1 Today record players are more popular with DJs than the general public.1 DJs use record players to scratch albums and create sounds during their performances.