Which retro format made this comeback?

Vinyl records made the surprising comeback because their large album artwork, tactile ritual of playing a physical disc, and warmer analog sound appeal to listeners seeking something more tangible than streaming. This nostalgia-driven demand grew steadily for over a decade, and in 2022 vinyl actually outsold CDs by units in the United States, a striking reversal after CDs had dominated for decades.

Cassette tapes have seen only a small niche revival among collectors and never came close to outselling CDs in this period. MiniDiscs were a short-lived 1990s format that never gained mainstream traction and essentially disappeared from the market long ago.

Vinyl's resurgence has been so strong that pressing plants worldwide struggled to keep up with demand, creating long manufacturing backlogs even for major artists releasing new albums on the format.