The first few discs were called “Victrola,” and they were made from a flexible plastic material. They featured quiet surfaces that were meant to be played with chromium needles. The oldest music record was created by Emile Berliner, in 1889.
History of vinyl records
1857 – Léon Scott patented the Phonautograph invented by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville. …
1877 – Thomas Edison invented the Phonograph which could record AND play sound.
1887 – Emile Berliner patented the Gramophone which played a flat lateral cut phonograph disc.
In 1948, backed by Columbia Records, the first vinyl record was introduced at the soon-to-be standardized 33 1/3 rpm speed. It used microgroove plastic to extend a 12-inch record’s playtime to 21 minutes on each side. Forty-two minutes of (almost) uninterrupted music!?
Vinyl record sales boomed throughout the 1960s and 1970s; per the Recording Industry Association of America, LP and extended play, or EP, sales peaked in 1978 at 341.3 million units sold, making up 47 percent of the total sales volume of all music formats.
Record record 1/ Thriller – Michael Jackson – 27 million vinyl records sold.