Here we are, several years into the 21st century and instead of examining a state-of-the-art technology or format like downloadable music, many music fans are rediscovering two long, lost friends: vinyl albums and the turntable.

According to the “2008 Year-End Shipment” statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), record sales more than doubled last year and stand at their highest levels since 1990.

For users new to the world of analog LPs, the act of listening to a record is much more hands on than cueing up a playlist from an iPod or dropping a CD into a player. Records require much more TLC, but the payoff (according to vinyl lovers) is an audio experience that is much warmer, involved and musical than any digitally based audio format.

To learn more about how to properly install a turntable into your system try visiting your local dealer or look into videos by the vinyl guru Michael Fremer (“21st Century Vinyl: Michael Fremer’s Practical Guide to Turntable Set-Up” and “It’s a Vinyl World After All”), which are available on Amazon.com for less than $30 each.

Fremer explains how to properly setup, maintain and playback records like an old-school audiophile, as well as what happens behind the scenes at a record pressing plant.

Click here to view 6 Turntables for Your Vinyl Collection.

Robert Archer - Senior Editor, CE Pro

Bob is a dedicated audiophile who has been writing about A/V for Electronic House sister publication CE Pro since 2000.