The vinyl boom is back, and it’s more than nostalgia. From record shops to bars, physical media has caught the eye of a new generation of listeners. As analog culture makes its comeback, it’s reshaping how people experience music in a digital age.
At Fruit Fly Records in Miami’s Little River the walls while the sound of a record spinning creates a laid-back vibe. DJ Romulo Del Castillo says the store’s success comes down to people wanting something real again.
“We have been here for almost a year at this location, but the owner had the store for about two years before that in downtown,” said Del Castillo. “People mostly come in for the stuff they grew up listening to, memory fulfillment, happy memories. They love the classics first.” Every Friday, Fruit Fly hosts “Open Decks” sessions, where customers can play their own records and mix sets behind the store’s DJ booth.
But what Del Castillo believes sets the shop apart is its focus on High Fidelity, or “Hi-Fi”: high quality sound systems.
“We sell Hi-Fi equipment that used to be really common in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, especially in South America and the West Indies,” Del Castillo explained. “We are trying to bring that back.”
Collect To Connect
Meghan Patricia, New York City resident and nurse, says vinyl helps her disconnect from the constant rush of everyday life.
“My favorite part of listening on vinyl is that you’re forced to listen to the album in order, how the artist intended,” she said. “It can be so tempting to hit shuffle on Spotify, but I think you lose the complete story that way.”
Patricia began collecting after inheriting a roommate’s late father’s record collection.
“A lot of my friends worked in the music industry and had been collecting vinyls for a while,” she said. “But what finally got me into it myself is that one of my roommate’s dads passed and left her a large vinyl collection, so I got a player and started getting some records myself.”
Patricia also enjoys the ritual of browsing through record stores for hidden gems.
“I love browsing through record stores to find new music — shoutout to Record Runner in New York City and Amoeba in Berkeley,” Patricia said.
Sweet Sound
At the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, sophomore Sean Sterling is part of a new wave of artists embracing analog methods. Sterling, who studies Modern Arts Development and Entrepreneurship — known as M.A.D.E. — and fronts the band “Chained Saint,” says the physical medium itself makes a difference in the sound.
“Physical media sounds different from digital because the listening medium itself is different,” Sterling said. “You’re listening to the needle physically moving the ridges on the record. This is an analog signal.”
Sterling and his band recorded their album “Blind Side” completely without computers. “That allows us to get the actual analog sound out of the vinyl record,” he said. “Vinyls are also amazing collectibles, even if you don’t listen to them.”
Adriel Grullon, a freshman majoring in health science, has never owned a record or a vinyl and doesn’t care to. “Digital media is just easier,” Grullon said. “There is no point in going to a music shop and getting a record if you can have it on Apple Music.”
Understanding that digital recordings lack the same waveform fidelity doesn’t bother Grullon. “As long as it sounds good, I don’t think too much.”
To Stream or Not to Stream
Professor Guillermo Page, assistant director of the music industry program at UM’s Frost School of Music, explained that vinyl records capture the full wave of sound. According to Page, digital media has advanced greatly and continues to evolve toward reproducing the same richness that vinyl provides, but it hasn’t yet reached that full level of authenticity. He emphasized that both digital media and vinyl records hold equal importance in today’s music landscape.
Page also shared his thoughts on why vinyl records are making a strong comeback. He explained that the appeal comes from it being tangible, a vinyl is something that you can hold “a true experience.” Fans who buy vinyl usually buy the classics to revisit the original sound. “Those are who we call the superfans,” he added.
From collectors like Patricia, to DJs like Del Castillo and artists like Sterling, the vinyl resurgence shows that music is not just about sound. It is about connection, memory and ritual. The act of lowering a needle onto a record has become a way of slowing down in an age of instant play. “We’re not just selling records. We’re keeping a piece of music history alive,” Del Castillo said.
words_chris walsh & alexis bankhead. design_jay moyer. photo_valentina gomez.
This article was published in Distraction’s Winter 2025 print issue.
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