As album sales plummeted in 2008 for the seventh time in eight years, there was one bright spot for a music industry still in love with physical products: Sales of vinyl records increased by nearly 90 percent.

That's right, they still make vinyl.

Consumers bought almost 1.9 million new LPs in 2008, the most since Nielsen SoundScan started keeping track in 1991. That's a mere fraction of the total music sold in 2008 — 1.5 billion units, which accounts for albums, singles, digital tracks and music videos. But it's a strong showing for a format thought to have begun its death spiral with the introduction of the compact disc 25 years ago.

Actually, the dominance of digital music is part of what has sparked a resurgent interest in vinyl, say some in the music industry.

"Ultimately, I think in some form it is a backlash against technology," says Jack Tieleman, who owns the small Canadian label Lance Rock. "There is something special about having to look after your purchase. Downloads and CDs do not have this quality. The consumer recognizes the value of the product and is willing to pay for it."

Tieleman, whose label has put out vinyl editions of CD releases by country-noir singer Neko Case, stopped making compact discs five years ago to focus on LPs.

It's not just indie labels that are keeping vinyl alive. EMI has been reissuing some of the most revered records on its Capitol and Virgin labels, including albums by the Beatles, Roxy Music and Radiohead, along with new albums by Brian Wilson and Glen Campbell. The full Ben Harper catalog is due out on wax in February, and EMI plans to rerelease albums by the Beach Boys and selections from its Blue Note jazz label later in 2009.

Each LP is remastered and pressed on 180-gram audiophile-quality vinyl and, in the case of older albums, the label re-creates the original packaging, down to stickers and posters.

FANS OF ALL AGES

The reissues are attracting music fans of all ages, says Jason Boyd, senior director of catalog sales at EMI.

"It's pretty split between older customers who grew up on vinyl, who think it's cool and are happy to see some of the classic titles they liked back on vinyl and are dusting off their turntables and getting back into it, and ... (the) college lifestyle hipster person that's going after the right albums because of their cultural or iconic significance," Boyd says. "It's not like it's going to take over CDs or digital sales, but it's viable and it's a physical piece that people want."

Digital music is the fastest-growing segment of the record industry, with sales of digital tracks up 32 percent to more than 1 billion in 2008, and digital album sales up 27 percent to 65 million.

Vinyl and digital technology aren't mutually exclusive, however. There are record players on the market that convert songs on LP to mp3s, and some labels include download coupons with the vinyl format.

That's been a boon for Beggars Group, says Dave Martin, head of direct sales for the English company's American arm in New York, which includes Matador, Rough Trade, XL and 4AD. The majority of LPs on Beggars come with a free download of the songs.

"It is a real selling point," Martin says. "If a record doesn't have a coupon, and somebody wants to find the record digitally for a portable media player, if they care enough, they'll find a way to get a copy. But to find a way to cut out that step for people, it's fantastic."

Even when records don't come with download coupons, some consumers are ardent enough fans to buy the same songs twice in different formats.

"I'm one of those guys," Boyd says. "I went out and bought the new AC/DC. I wanted it on vinyl and CD. Same with the Guns N' Roses piece — I wanted both of those configurations."

He favors using LPs as a promotional tool by releasing them a week or two in advance of other formats, something other major labels have done, too, notably Columbia, which released Bruce Springsteen's 2007 album "Magic" on vinyl a week before the CD release date.

"I think it helps feed the beast of the fan and gives you a pivotal marketing angle," Boyd says.

SOUNDS '10 TIMES BETTER'

There's plenty of vinyl out there for people to buy, and some of it even touches on multiple formats. But why the sudden interest?

There are a couple theories. One is sonic: Adherents say music on vinyl simply sounds better than its digital counterpart.

"A well-recorded and -mastered vinyl record will sound 10 times better, even with the background noise," says Michael Deming, a music producer and recording engineer who has made records with the Pernice Brothers, Mike Ireland, the Lilys and Jim White.

Digital technology is based on sampling sound. Commercially released CDs sample at the speedy rate of 44,100 times per second, but can't recreate the stereo image and other technical aspects that give an analog sound recording its warmth.

"Your ears, brain and soul don't like that," Deming says. "A tape recording or vinyl record is constantly variable without any samples. It is as analog as our own hearing or eyesight and, therefore, is digested by our ears and brains in such a way that the emotional as well as the audio content is uncompromised."

There's a less wonky reason, too: With its larger platform for album artwork and limited editions released in different colors, vinyl is a cool collectible.

"The concept of a CD as an artifact isn't that intriguing to people, but for many reasons, vinyl continues to have much more of a connection to the psyche of being a fan," says Martin, 40, who started buying vinyl at age 13, when he became a serious music fan. He estimates he has between 3,000 and 4,000 LPs.

"It's bigger, it takes up more space, but you sort of get more, sizewise," he says.