Would vinyl even be invented today?

"Man...this was in an article from the New Yorker (I think) about using laser/digital tech to see what old, unplayable wax cylinders contain because you can't use a needle on them as they will be destroyed, or they're already cracked to shit...all cool stuff."

I don't know if they still make them anymore, but one company was making TT's that used a laser to read the record instead of a phono cart.

Saw a Youtube video with the leading minds of audio on the cutting edge of digital audio exploring the limits of digital audio. Boy were they all into USB, Spdif, jitter, storage and the likes.
Turns out the most advanced of the group were long confirmed analog enthusiasts hell bent on getting that sound into digital formats. They have made considerable progress. No one on the panel claimed to have achieved it
On an interesting note, it seems there is approximately a terabyte of info on an LP. That may go some way in explaining why the analog format is a more complete experience.
The answer to the original question is probably no, unless someone really decided to think outside the box. It's just too simple.

Digital would have worked for audio as well as it does for video only if there were as many consumers who appreciate audio as compared to those who appreciate video. Look at the number of big flatscreen TVs and projectors that are sold. How many of them would spend on good audio ? Hence the growth rate of audio quality in digital domain.

yea dood, we tryin' we're all obsessed with placing a needle, flipping a record that sometimes has only one song on each side or same song with different mixes, scratching it, then replacing this needle, upgrading, cleaning, shelving, storing... wtf? why?

12-17-14: Czarivey
yea dood, we tryin' we're all obsessed with placing a needle, flipping a record that sometimes has only one song on each side or same song with different mixes, scratching it, then replacing this needle, upgrading, cleaning, shelving, storing... wtf? why?

... for the same reason that I long ago realized synthetic blend no-iron shirts weren't worth the convenience. I'll gladly spend 10 mins. ironing a nice all-cotton shirt that will feel good all day the same way I'll take a little time to make sure my records and stylus are clean to have a far more emotionally involving musical experience.

It's the listening, that's why.

BTW, there are many things based on old technology that continue to thrive. Somebody mentioned the internal combustion engine, but it's survived alternatives such as steam power, the Wankel rotary engine, and the turbine engine, all of which generated a lot of press but ultimately came to little in automobiles.

The grand piano of today was pretty much perfected around 120 years ago. A 1900 Steinway 9' grand is competitive with a new one made (the same old way) today. In fact, CBS Musical Instruments tried to improve the Steinway by replacing the 19th century-based felt bushings in the piano action with Teflon sleeves. It turned out the old technology (felt) was superior because the Teflon would make the action stick in humid weather.

The principle of sound energy etching a wax cylinder may be well over 100 years old, but the refinement into the stereo LP (itself now 56 years old) is capable of transporting you to the performance and achieving a great sense of musical satisfaction. It is also able to do it economically and provides a durable, space-efficient (relative to the data density it contains) medium.