Step into a few shops along College Avenue, and it's easy to see a trend toward retro.

With Pac-Man-adorned T-shirts and a subculture of Atari players, the question begs to be asked. What else has gone retro?

The Recording Industry Association of America reported that vinyl LP sales grew from 2000 to 2006 even as overall music sales dropped from $12 billion to $14 billion.

Judging by those numbers, the way people want their music is turning retro.

And, it's not just the classics being picked up in vinyl.

Hip-hop populars such as Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Nas are producing vinyl along with their latest CDs. Priced from $10 to $15 for a quality vinyl, records are more affordable than their compact counterparts.

Jesse Ruegg, record collector and manager of Chronic Town Hookah Lounge, 224 W. College Ave., summed up the trend: It's a "do-it-yourself ethic. [Buying records is] supporting someone doing it for the music, for the passion rather than for selling millions of CDs."

Ruegg pegged vinyl sound above CD and other medium quality, too.

"I would prefer to listen to vinyl than anything else," he added.

The spiked interest in vinyl seems to be moving with the rise in popularity of MP3 players and digital music downloading, Ruegg said.

"With the record industry the way it is today, people aren't buying a whole CD anymore," he said, emphasizing the "tactile experience" of a vinyl.

Chronic Town will begin selling records in-store this fall, Ruegg said.

The store aims to have everything displayed and catalogued by the time students return for the fall.

The store began building its collection by attending record conventions, he added.

The appeal is targeting a "niche" collectors market, he said, and its selection will include garage rock, '60s music and indie records.

Josh Ferko, owner of Stax for Trax, a small business that sells records online and out of Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St., also plans on expanding into new vinyl in the fall.

Ferko started selling "high-quality and rare items" on eBay and more reasonably priced music in the store in September.

Many items are priced as low as $3 to $5. The collection will include re-issues from '60s tunes to soul, garage rock and psychedelic.

Ferko said he has witnessed a similar trend with vinyl records.

"The trend is growing. Record companies tried to kill vinyl when cassettes emerged, but buds in your ears is no comparison to listening to music on a stereo," he said.

Ferko isn't complaining.

"Things have gone really well in my business," he said. "There's definitely a great interest in vinyl that is much deserved."

Ruegg and Ferko aren't the only ones with soft spots for vinyl.

Some aficionados of analog sound quality will pay up to $12,000 for laser turntables.

Mid-quality players are available online at stores such as Circuit City or Best Buy for about $150 and are sold locally at Paul & Tony's Stereo, 1321 S. Atherton St.

"Some real purists," as Ruegg said, like to have their vintage record players despite issues with the quality and maintenance upkeep with used equipment.

Greg Gabbard of City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., has a perspective on record sales that spans a little further.

He said sales used to be better and accrued to thousands of record sales each year -- but that trend slowly declined.

However, about eight years ago, the trend turned against CDs, or what music producer Steve Albini called in the '80s, the "rich man's eight-track," Gabbard said.

Gabbard said CDs are more convenient, while records are more fun with better booklets and more substantial artwork.

He added that the production process aimed at producing vinyl is different than the approach some artists take to producing compact discs.

With vinyl, it is important to build an entire side with a beginning, middle and end that crescendos, opposed to piecemeal tracks, Gabbard said.

"[It's] not creating a jingle," he said, "it's a work of art."