Vinyl is the best sounding, IMHO.
I have about a thousand records and 100+ gigs of digital and generally listen more to digital files out of convenience.
When I first (re-started) buying records some 15 years ago, I used an entry level Pro-Ject with Ortofon Red MM cartridge. I "over thought" the cleaning of records and did fight with some pops and clicks. However, as I went up the ladder, it became apparent that the cartridge is key to how much surface noise one gets from a record. That, and of course, coming to grips that buying used records is generally high risk - sadly more so now than 15 years ago.
I have zero interest in streaming. I burned most of my CD's to 192/24 and some others lossless. Some I burned in both formats. When I compared the two I did not hear a discernable difference in sound. I would consider my rig as mid-fi, so those that are in over 15K may disagree.
For most - myself included - vinyl provides better bass and sounds better (scales up) at higher volumes. I prefer clean uncluttered sound and so I jettisoned my sub-woofer some time ago which provided cleaner sound to hear finer resolution. That process provided finer sound with digital files vs. analog. Digital resolution can exceed vinyl and while that may be true, the two sounds are extricably different and analog is just more realistic, IMHO. Most who say one is better than the other, have likely invested greatly on one over the other.
I have enjoyed some Japanese CD offerings and remastered CD's but that comes with risks. Some are poorly remastered, and some Japan CD's do not offer better sound at all. It would seem that CD mfg could be bettered. Some new releases of old music I would deem a racket. Buying either format has pitfalls.
For those that stream, beware your costs will go up in parallel with your lifetime. Meaning that if you choose to stream at an early age in order to avoid purchasing any medium, you will likely pay more for music vs. those that own over your lifetime. It is important to realize (as I have) that there is a limited amount of music that you care for. Buy what you like, renting is for suckers.
As is well known, CD's come in with varying volume levels and that requires keeping the remote handy. None of that with vinyl; set the volume and you are done. I do find 45 speed LP's superior, but with those, you will need to flip the record every 10 minutes or so. Nevertheless, if you are entertaining others, record playing is truly a party maker. Playing music for others via a remote or computer is dull. What is the opposite of "Two Turntables and a Microphone"? I would say, "one remote and a couch". You can engage or disengage and it sounds like a lot of folks here are more likely to lay down than get up ;)
@jl35
I got a similar result (50% buy records without the ability to play them) when I queried a.i. on that. Not sure how that can be, but having purchased a thousand records in the past 15 years I can tell you that prices have spiked and while I did not know it at the time, vinyl turned out to be a good investment. I am quite sure I made 5-6K doing that, unknowingly.