Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD

An artist whom I know remastered the back catalog of a life’s work. You can now hear a brushed cymbal out of a dark grey background, a vocal rasp separated from a concurrent hand clap. It’s all very quiet, and delineated. And eerie, as if there is a light blanket over your speakers. Both on 180gr (and CD.) However, just like cutting a wheel to see how it works, the whole is lost in the experiment.
It no longer sounds like musicians playing together. The essential essence is gone.
When I go back to the 70s original, with its comparitive noisy vinyl, the beauty of the music is there. Utterly. Clarity, air, exquisite detail, mesmerizing midband, black backgrounds, and clean bass not layered in murk.
This is endemic through most remasters and almost all new recordings. Give me an original analog recording with vinyl noise any day.
If you’ve never experienced this difference, you cannot understand the love of analog.

@noromance - no doubt. But there are exceptions. The Speakers Corner reissue of Herbie Hancock's Crossings is just spectacular compared to a time capsule original Warner Green label (which is not a shabby pressing by any means). It just sparkles, has more punch. Perhaps due to the kind of music- a sort of collision of hard jazz, Fender Rhodes funk, no vocal parts as I recall.
I do find a lot of "audiophile" reissues to sound more detailed, a little more 'tipped up' but lacking a certain cohesion and organic quality. I suppose that some listeners want to hear more detail. The other issue, obviously, is price and condition of original pressings (assuming the word "original" means something in the context of time and place). In some cases, the records are so expensive, mid-to high three figures or more, that a reissue makes sense. 
I think it is case by case. But, so often I do find that my go-to, particularly from the dawn of stereo til the mid'70s, is often, not always, an early pressing. (Some reissues and remasters from the period are also better sounding than first pressings in my experience, e.g., Led Zep 1, but again, it's case by case for me).
The hard part is buying a bunch of pressings to make the comparisons (costly and time consuming), or relying on others for their anecdotal views-- sometimes, it is a matter of preference, e.g. Heart of Gold, original Lee Hulko cut is just so natural sounding, but some find it congested and it is hard to find a quiet copy. The Chris Bellman recut is easy to source, has more "clarity" but loses a little of that organic quality.

This thread has turned into a Roseanne Rosannadanna skit:

"Dear Chad,
Sorry to hear about your experience with vinyl.  Unfortunately your cartridge sucks, your tonearm sucks, your phono stage is trash, your vinyl sucks, you haven't warmed up your system, you haven't broken in your system, you need to adjust VTA by ear with every record, you haven't turned down your refrigerator, your cat is sitting too close to the turntable, you're a lousy lover and your breath smells.
Sincerely,
Roseanne Rosannadanna"

The best suggestion I've seen is the lack of loading options on the phono stage.  I've used the Zu Denon on a phono stage with variable loading and it is definitely a salt to taste thing.

That said, I once built my analog rig to outshine my digital, and then turned around and did the reverse, so I wouldn't sweat it too much if you prefer your digital setup.  Nothing wrong with good digital either.  Hang in there Chad!

Whoopycat

A little harsh and extreme there but funny in a way.

Yes lots of possible reasons but so far as stated by many members, many times.

1/ likely the phono stage has sucked the life out of the cartridge by its very limited loading options . Beg, borrow or steal a separate phono with multiple loading options to test this theory.

2/ No actual confirmation yet but it does sound like the OP is basing this off just one vinyl/cd comparison. Needs to try a lot more older known excellent pressings to get a more subjective viewpoint.

Have fun!

Whoopycat, you wouldn't know a good sound if it... hang on, only kidding!
Actually totally agree. Records are a drag but I've only been moved to tears by vinyl. Maybe it was all the surface noise!