Sales of old-fashioned vinyl records almost doubled in the past year as music lovers cracked out their turntables and enjoyed their favourite artists in a whole new way.
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But not even the strong LP figures could save physical music sales last year, which were overtaken by music downloads for the first time.
New data from the Australian Recording Industry Association showed Australians downloaded more albums in the past year than they physically bought.
Digital sales rose about 8 per cent last year, overtaking CD sales, which plunged by 25 per cent.
The one bright spot in the music market was vinyl sales, which rose by 77 per cent in Australia.
The owner of Canberra's Landspeed Records, Blake Budak, said he wasn't surprised.
''We've always sold vinyl since we opened in 1994 … [but] vinyl sales definitely have increased over the past few years,'' he said.
Not only that, Mr Budak said Landspeed sold a large number of turntables during the Christmas period and was planning to expand its selection. He attributed part of the rise in vinyl sales to the increasing number of artists who are releasing new works on LP.
ARIA says Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories was one of the best-selling vinyl albums of the past year in Australia.
''That was massive. We still sold a lot of their CDs, but over the past 12 months, that would have been our biggest-selling record. We still sell a lot of copies,'' Mr Budak said.
He said buying a vinyl record enabled a music lover to connect with their favourite band on a more substantial level.
''They've already got the album on their computer and they're very emotionally invested in that artist. By buying that record, it's how they're strengthening the ties.''
ARIA chief executive Dan Rosen said the association had noticed a trend towards vinyl developing over several years.
''It's very exciting to see that music fans are still able to go down to their local stores and pick up a vinyl record,'' said Mr Rosen, who also plans to buy a turntable soon and bust out his old vinyl collection.
He said it was an optimistic time for the music industry, after the vinyl resurgence showed that good-quality music never dies.
''Often now the album comes with a digital download, so you've got the best of both worlds.''
Part-time DJ Colin McLeod said he had been collecting vinyl records since he was 13.
''I like the size, I like the feel, I like the scratchy noise,'' he said. ''They're cool and they still look cool.''
But Mr McLeod, who is playing this weekend as part of Canberra's Enlighten festival, said the surge in vinyl sales wasn't entirely good news for collectors.
''It's becoming harder and harder to get the old ones,'' he said. ''People are looking at their collections now and thinking, 'These might be worth quite a bit of money.'''
