These were wax or celluloid cylinders used with Thomas Edison’s phonograph. They were the first commercially available audio recordings, though they were soon overtaken by disc records.
Flat disc records made of shellac, played on gramophones, became the dominant format for recorded music. Each side held a few minutes of audio, requiring multiple discs for longer works.
Vinyl records offered better sound quality and longer play times than shellac. The LP (33⅓ RPM) and single (45 RPM) formats became music industry standards for decades.
Open reel magnetic tape offered high-quality sound and was popular among audiophiles and professionals. It was less common for casual home listeners due to cost and complexity.
An endless-loop cartridge format primarily used in cars, offering convenience but with limited audio fidelity. It was eventually replaced by the more compact cassette.
The cassette tape became wildly popular for its portability and recordability, making mixtapes and personal recording easy. Walkmans and boom boxes helped drive mass adoption.
Digital optical discs offered high-quality, skip-free audio with convenient track navigation. CDs became the dominant music format throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
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