Future of Analog Technology Media

 could there be something superior to vinyl records for capturing music in the analog format

Yes ... it's called tape and it's undergoing quite a revival don't you know! New R2R machines and new tape issues abouding

However the cost of entry is quite considerable 😏

As to anything genuinely new don't hold your breath!

 HD Vinyl looks interesting and you can play it on your current analog setup

https://hdvinyl.org/

Yeah, was thinking of something brand spanking new... can't remember where I read it, but there's some type of theoretical hologram that might do a good job of storing music in analog format, but someone might have been trolling, who knows.

@lostbears 
thank you. I’d not heard of it. TG 

ELCASSETTE (1976) MIGHT HAVE BEEN a better analog format that was easy to use but much better sounding than standard cassette machines.  Std. cassettes are good but still lacking in a number of areas.  I looked at a couple of the Sony decks on Ebay, but of course the tapes are hard to find.  IF, if- they could have been manufactured in metal cases with equally well made recorders, I'll bet they could have rivaled LP's- as long as we're not talking about high-end turntables.

 HD Vinyl looks interesting and you can play it on your current analog setup

https://hdvinyl.org/

I heard about that, but it looks like the music is first digitized to a 3D topographic map, so doesn't stay analog. Don't get me wrong I think this has the potential of sounding really great (and I will be one of the first in line to check it out), but for analog purists this is likely something to gripe about.