While Stinson doesn't believe record sales will make any significant impact on the market, the growth and interest generated by collectors over the years has been enough to sustain some record shops in the valley. Randy's Records has been operating in the same downtown location since 1979 when Randy Stinson — the store's namesake — first opened shop.

For collectors like Whipple, record collecting is about the hunt — digging and picking through box after box, looking for that special something that catches the buyer. Whenever Whipple travels, he said his first stop is at a local record shop to see what records are waiting.

"It's surprising vinyl has made the comeback it has," Whipple said. "I think it's because CD's are on their way out and now people are finding these records and realized CD's weren't all they were hopped up to be."

Whipple concedes CD's have had their place — they're convenient in comparison to a bulky record and you can't play a record in the car or take it jogging. But the digital revolution has prompted the CD's swan song with MP3 players that can fit in your pocket filled with the works of thousands of artists.

In response to consumers digital desires, record companies are providing digital copies of the album within vinyl packages so collectors can have the best of both worlds. The recent release of Portishead's LP "Third" on Mecury Records includes an MP3 certificate so buyers can have a digital copy, too.

With record companies re-releasing popular artists work on vinyl and newer artists embracing the format, younger crowds are being converted to record collecting.

Nick Woodward, a Salt Lake City resident, began collecting records after a favorite band, Make Believe, released an album exclusively on vinyl. He bought the album and a record player two years ago and he's been collecting ever since, he said. On Friday, Woodward attended a fall dollar event hosted by Randy's Record's and added Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" to his collection along with a Bill Cosby recording.

As a growing number of listeners have begun turning to vinyl as a way to maintain a material connection to music, Matt Sullivan, founder and co-owner of Light in the Attic Records, said his company has been releasing hand-numbered and limited edition pressing of records to appeal to collectors.

"Record sales have always been important for us because we have an audience that loves music," Sullivan said. "But we have definitely seen a growth in our record sales in the past six months. Some of our titles would sell more on vinyl but we keep the pressings limited to keep them special."

Sullivan said the bulk of sales are still dominated by CD's, but digital downloads are growing fast and he expects they will surpass other formats soon.

"I'm predicting that in another five years our sales will be a small percentage of vinyl with the rest largely being digital," Sullivan said.

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E-mail: cnorlen@desnews.com