* As I learned in the process of writing my online "book," by virtue of its very physical characteristics and its higher rotation speed, the 45 rpm, 7-inch format is capable of capturing a much higher amount of "information" about each second of music that's recorded — its wider, deeper grooves, compared with LPs, that are typically able to be placed slightly farther apart enable mastering engineers to encode more information per second due to the rotation speed difference and a louder dynamic range because of its superior groove characteristics. If you're interested, I invite you to read the chapter of the book titled "Why 45s Sound Better Than LPs". Then arrange to meet with a friend who has both 45 rpm and LP versions of various titles, especially from the 1950s-70s, and listen to the difference in sound quality between the two on a decent set of speakers. In such a test, the average listener will easily hear the difference and recognize the 45's superior audio fidelity (when mastered correctly, of course, in both cases). I was as surprised at the finding as you will be, but now that I'm used to the idea it makes perfect sense. It's also why my ears have led me to 45 collecting over LP collecting, I now believe. Because 45s — and the music we loved that they contain — simply sound better. They are, in fact, the finest embodiments of Rock 'n' Soul music on vinyl that you can attain as a music collector. If you have audiophile ears, as I do, you will be astounded by the way 45s sound if you're used to LPs. This is why record companies such as Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs is now releasing albums on 12-inch vinyl that spin at 45 rpm. Doing so means a single-disk album becomes a 2-disk one.