Groove recordings, first designed in the final quarter of the 19th century, held a predominant position for an impressive amount of time - just about a century - withstanding competition from reel-to-reel tape, the 8-track cartridge and the compact cassette. However, by 1988, the compact disc had surpassed the gramophone record in popularity.

In spite of their obvious flaws, such as the lack of portability, records still have enthusiastic supporters. Vinyl records continue to be manufactured and sold today, especially by independent rock bands and labels. although record sales are considered to be a niche market composed of audiophiles, collectors and DJs. Old records and out of print recordings in particular are in much demand by collectors the world over.

In the UK, sales of new vinyl records (particularly 7 inch singles) have increased significantly in recent years, somewhat reversing the downward trend seen during the 1990s.

For disc jockeys ("DJs"), mostly in the electronic dance music or hip hop genres, vinyl has an advantage over the CD - direct manipulation of the medium. DJ techniques such as slip-cueing, beatmatching and scratching originated on turntables. With CDs or compact audio cassettes one normally has only indirect manipulation options, e.g., the play, stop and pause buttons. With a record one can place the stylus a few grooves farther in or out, accelerate or decelerate the turntable, or even reverse its direction, provided the stylus, record player and the record itself are built to withstand it. Most CDJs and DJ software these days have some of these capabilities but nothing is like the real thing.