How long do records last?

@ghdprentice I have to say that after watching this, I am now more willing to play albums I've been holding back on like Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs etc.

I've got 2,000. The first thousand I bought in the last millennium and tended to play once while listening and recording on a high end tape deck and then listened to tapes. Then as I collected the next thousand only listened to them once or twice. While working, if I listened to one a day I was lucky. Now I listen to streaming. So if I listened to mine one time again... I'd have to live to 150 or more. 

I don't have a personal experience with this, and I treat all my records with LAST record preservative. I would guess, they should become noisier if vinyl is of poor quality or deteriorated for some reason even if you clean them again from time to time.

It doesn't matter what cartridge you use because every different stylus profile contacts a different part of the groove so the wear pattern left by one stylus may obviate what is contacted by another and even then, the vinyl must encounter some serious abuse to become "worn out".  In other words, records can last for decades or maybe forever and the surfaces remain quiet with like new fidelity.  Anyone who routinely shops used records looking for those out-of-print classic titles to add to their collections can attest to this.

Indeed. Like using crap vinyl and low-quality assurance. I've records from the 50s in way better condition than some brand-new vinyl. 

the vinyl must encounter some serious abuse to become "worn out"