Greybeard here..... I was lucky enough to grow up when vinyl was the format and CDs the new thing. Early CD players were terrible, usually harsh sounding compared to their vinyl counterparts. A family friend owned a higher end hi-fi store during the era when having a good hi-fi was a status symbol. I got to listen to a lot of new, expensive equipment that way. In the late 80s CD simply did not cut the mustard compared to even an entry level high-end record player. For example a Nad 3020i with a Rega Planer II would outplay the most expensive Marantz or Yamaha cd player at the time.
That kept my teenage record collection safe and allowed me to build a system that I am proud off. Keeping an eye open for sales of both equipment and records through the 90s and 2000s when everyone got rid of their records and record players.
Today, the reasons are a bit different, why do I still listen to vinyl in this age of convenience. Vinyl ticks some unique boxes that cannot be ticked by most other formats.
There is a lot of arcane knowledge needed to get the best results (cartridges, tracking setup, speaker placement)
Playing records require effort, which leads focus.