Why music lovers need a record cleaner: the "loudness wars" are killing today's music.

Hence we find stories like this.

Record Outlet, a small music store in Thousand Oaks, carries used vinyl records as well as CDs. Store owner K.C. Staples said business has been as good as ever.

"Vinyl sales have never really slowed down," he said. "CD sales have slumped, but I'm seeing more junior high through high school young adults buying more records."

Staples said the online music culture has failed to harm vinyl sales, part because digital music files, in his opinion, have inferior sound quality compared with records. There also is a nostalgic fascination with the format.

"I think a lot of people like owning, in a way, a piece of history," Staples said.

and

To all those naysayers out there — lovers of the digital, the downloaded and the iPod — take note: Vinyl lives.

That's "vinyl" as in records, those large, grooved discs you place on a turntable and play with a needle.

As the muchkins have to explain when their friends ask what's on all those shelves in the music room and garage.

Records are a social, as well a financial, investment.

Day says he tries to keep prices low so customers can experience the thrill of discovering or rediscovering music.

But if they are too low, he could get cleaned out by dealers who sell on eBay. Although eBay has created a virtual community of record collectors, Day says he can't imagine a time when record stores no longer exist.

"It's part of the experience of learning about music," he says. "There's a social aspect to it."

So handle your heirlooms with care.  ¶ 9:56 AM