Phonograph record

A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), a vinyl record (for later varieties only), or simply a record or vinyl is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near the outside edge and ends near the center of the disc. The stored sound information is made audible by playing the record on a phonograph (also referred to as a turntable and a number of other names).

Records have been produced in different formats with playing times ranging from a few minutes to around 30 minutes per side. For about half a century, the discs were commonly made from shellac, and these records typically ran at 78 rpm. After the 1940s, "vinyl" records made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) became standard replacing the old "78s" ("seventy-eights") and remain so to this day; they have been produced in various formats, most commonly 7-inch discs played at 45 rpm (typically for singles, also called 45s ("forty-fives")), or 12-inch discs played at 33⅓ rpm (known as an LP, "long-playing records", typically for full-length albums).