Gramophone record (usually called gramophone record, especially in British English), is usually a simple record. It is a kind of analog sound storage medium, in the form of a flat disc with a modulation spiral groove. The grooves usually begin near the periphery of the disc and end near the center of the disc. Initially, discs were usually made of shellac; since the 1940s, PVC has become popular. Since then, records made of any material have gradually been called vinyl records, or simply vinyl records.

Gramophone record is the main medium used for music reproduction in the whole 20th century. Since the late 1880s, it has coexisted with the gramophone cylinder and effectively replaced it around 1912. Vinyl records maintain the largest market share, even when new formats such as compact tapes are sold in large quantities. By the 1980s, digital media in the form of CD-ROM had gained a larger market share, and vinyl records became the mainstream in 1991. Since the 1990s, vinyl records have continued to be produced and sold on a smaller scale, especially for DJs, and are distributed by artists in most dance music genres, and are welcomed by the growing niche market of enthusiasts. Phonograph records emerged in the early 21st century, with 9.2 million vinyl records sold in the United States in 2014, an increase of 260% over 2009. Similarly, in the UK, record sales increased fivefold between 2009 and 2014.

As of 2017, there are still 48 vinyl record pressing plants in the world, 18 in the United States and 30 in other countries. The growing popularity of vinyl has led to investment in new and modern record presses. [4] There are only two lacquerware (acetate disc) manufacturers left: Apollo master in California and MDC in Japan.

The recording of gramophone is usually in diameter (inch) (12 inch, 10 inch, 7 inch), revolution per minute (RPM) (8 1 ⁄ 3, 16 2 ⁄ 3, 33 1 ⁄ 3, 45, 78), [6] and its time capacity, depending on their diameter and speed (LP [long-time playback], 12 inch disc, 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm; SP [single], 10 inch disc, 78 RPM or 7 inch disc, 45 rpm; EP [extended playback], 12 inch disc or 7 inch disc, 33 1 ⁄ 3 or 45 RPM); its reproductive quality or fidelity level (high fidelity, integrity, full range, etc.); and the number of audio channels (mono, stereo, Quad, etc.).

Vinyl records can be scratched or distorted if they are stored incorrectly, but they can last for centuries if they are not exposed to high temperatures, handled carelessly or broken.

Collectors and artists attach great importance to the large cover (and inner sleeve) because of the space of visual expression, especially for the long-term Vinyl LP.

The record, patented by L é on Scott in 1857, uses vibrating diaphragms and stylus to record sound waves graphically as traces on paper, purely for visual analysis, rather than playing them. In the 2000s, these traces were first scanned by audio engineers and then digitally converted to audible sound. Scott's voice and voice atlas, produced in 1860, was first played as a voice in 2008. Together with the tuning fork and the incomprehensible fragments recorded as early as 1857, these are the earliest known sound recordings.

In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. Unlike a phonograph, it can record and reproduce sound. Although the names are similar, there is no documentary evidence that Edison's phonograph is based on Scott's. Edison first tried to record sound on wax impregnated paper tape, with the idea of creating a "telephone repeater" similar to the telegraph repeater he had been working on. Although the visible results give him confidence that sound can be physically recorded and reproduced, his notes do not show that he actually reproduced sound months later before his first experiment using tin foil as recording medium. The tin paper is wrapped on the slotted metal cylinder, and the tin alloy is concave through the sound vibration probe when the cylinder rotates. The recording can be played immediately. The article in the Journal of the scientific people, which introduces the tinfoil gramophone to the public, mentions marey, rosapelly, Barlow, and Scott as creators of recording devices, but it's important not to reproduce the sound. Edison also invented a phonograph in the form of magnetic tape and optical disk. There are many uses of the gramophone, but although it was briefly popular as an amazing novelty in public demonstrations, it turns out that the tin foil gramophone is too rough to be used for any practical purpose. Ten years later, Edison developed a greatly improved gramophone, which uses a hollow wax cylinder instead of foil. It turned out to be a more beautiful, useful and durable device. The wax phonograph created the recording market in the late 1880s and occupied the leading position in the early 20th century.

The horizontally cut record was developed in the United States by Emile Berliner, who named its system "gramophone", which is different from Edison's wax cylinder "gramophone" and American gramophone's wax cylinder "Graphophone". The Berliners' earliest record, which was first released in Europe in 1889, was 12.5 cm (about 5 inches) in diameter and played on a small manual propulsion machine. Due to the limited sound quality, records and machines are only suitable for toys or curiosity. In 1894, Berliner registered a 7-inch-diameter record with the trademark of Berliner gramophone in the United States, which has higher entertainment value and can play a larger gramophone. Berliner's records were poor in sound quality compared to wax cylinders, but his manufacturing partner, Eldridge R. Johnson, eventually improved them. Due to legal reasons, the trademark of Berliner's "gramophone" was abandoned. In 1901, Johnson and Berliner's independent company were reorganized into Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey, whose products will occupy a dominant position in the market for many years. [9] Emile Berliner moved the company to Montreal in 1900. The plant became a Canadian branch of RCA victor. There is a special museum in Montreal (Mus é Edes ondes Emile Berliner).

In 1901, a 10 inch disc record was introduced, followed by a 12 inch record in 1903. They may play for more than three minutes and four minutes respectively, while modern cylinders can only play for about two minutes. To take advantage of the disc, Edison launched the Amberol cylinder in 1909, with a maximum playing time of 41 ⁄ 2 minutes (160 RPM), while the blue Amberol records replaced the playing surface made of celluloid (a plastic), which is much less brittle. Despite these improvements, in the 1910s, Edison continued to produce new blue Amberol cylinders for a shrinking customer base, but in the 1910s, the plate won a decisive victory. By the end of 1919, the manufacture of transverse cutting disc had obtained basic patent. The records have expired, providing production sites for countless companies. Until the 1980s, analog disc records dominated the home entertainment market until they were replaced by digital compression discs, and then by digital audio records distributed through online music stores and Internet file sharing.