Thomas Edison

 Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the phonograph in 1877.  

A phonograph, sometimes known as a gramophone in later incarnations, a record player since the 1940s, or more recently a turntable, is a mechanical and analogue recording and sound reproduction device. As matching physical distortions of a spiral groove carved, etched, incised, or impressed into the surface of a revolving cylinder or disc, referred to as a "record," the sound vibration waveforms are captured. A playback stylus tracks the groove and is therefore vibrated by it to reproduce the sound by slightly rotating the surface while doing so. The stylus of early acoustic phonographs vibrated a diaphragm, producing sound waves that were connected to the open air through a flare horn or directly to the listener's ears using stethoscope-style earphones.

Emile Berliner, who invented the word "gramophone" for record players that play flat discs with a spiral groove extending from the edge to near the center, pioneered the switch from phonograph cylinders to flat discs in the 1890s. Later upgrades throughout the years included adjustments to the turntable's motor system, stylus or needle, pickup system, sound and equalization systems, and pickup system.

For the majority of the 20th century, the disc phonograph record dominated commercial audio recording formats. Cassette tapes and 8-track cartridges were developed as substitutes in the 1960s. Due to the popularity of cassettes, the development of the compact disc, and the subsequent arrival of digital music distribution in the 2000s, phonograph usage drastically decreased in the 1980s. However, records have seen a renaissance during the 2000s and are still a preferred medium for certain DJs, collectors, turntablists, and audiophiles.