Long-playing records, or LPs, have recently been enjoying a resurgence in popularity among baby-boomers because of their rarity, high quality sound and, surprisingly, the difficulty in playing them.

Various music companies have been reproducing popular LP records from the 1960s-70s such as the Rolling Stones, the Carpenters and T-Rex.

It's rare to find old records and new releases on store shelves nowadays because there is only one pressing plant producing LP records in Japan.

Baby-boomers also have strong affiliations with LPs because in their youth they could hardly afford the relatively expensive records -- around 2,500 yen for a new release at that time.

Now retired, baby-boomers have plenty of time and money, and are trying to relive their long-lost dream -- amassing a collection of LP records and expensive stereo systems.

Among recently released record collections are Columbia Music's "Eternal Masterpieces - Revival of LP Records" (Eien no Meiban - LP Record Fukkatsu), which was released last year, and Universal Music's "The 100 Best LP Masterpieces" (Meiban LP 100-sen).

Unlike past collections of mainly jazz-oriented record reprints, both series boast of all-genre coverage, ranging from rock 'n' roll, pop and classical music to Japanese folk songs. They also tend to have similar record jackets to the originals.

The latest record collections cover such artists as: The Police, 10cc, Bob Marley, Nirvana, Velvet Underground & Nico, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, as well as Japanese artists like Yosui Inoue, Kenji Sawada and Anzen Chitai, and classical maestros including Furtwangler, Karajan and Pollini.

The success of these collections is expected to spark a further LP record boom.

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