I think vinyl is great on the outer rim, but as you close into the inner diameter, there's a harmonic distortion that seems to occur, which many find pleasurable and fulfilling. Personally, I find the resurgence of vinyl a "cool" and collectable trend. Speaking with Ben Blackwell (Third-Man Records), who's a huge fan of vinyl, and would listen to vinyl any day over CD's admits the trend is largely a cool factor as well. Sure, there's some pleasure in listening to vinyl, but there's certainly a growing number of collectors out there who will pay through the nose for something wacko, such as Jack White's liquid filled vinyl (which sold for about $250 per record).
For me, I grew up with vinyl and cassette tapes. I love both, but I realized the limitations of each when I first heard CDs, and even more, when I first heard 24-Bit Audio. Everything has limits. What seems to happen in most industries is, the competition is first in the technology and techniques up until those are common. After the loudness wars (which hasn't died yet), when people would listen to old vinyl, they could hear/experience nuances unheard of in those slammed CD recordings. For many, this is a new experience--a positive one.
That said, I still chuckle when I see audiophile turntables that cost more than a car. Really, people? I'm a fan of Audiophile-class listening. In my home mastering, I use a Pass Labs X-350 amp Polk Audio SRS-SDA 2.3TL speakers, great cabling and Apogee D/A converters. I bought the amp and speakers used. But I can't see spending $40,000 on a turntable to play vinyl. My signature below says it all. Some cults are just a bit too over-zealous and fester like a zombie-attack. Luckily, the disease doesn't spread fast. Listen to the music, not the ghost flatulence the mic picked up in a haunted studio.
Ever notice nobody's going nuts about reel-to-reel? Give me the original reel-to-reel master tape and the recorder it was mastered with and I'll enjoy it to the fullest. heh.