Would vinyl even be invented today?

Oh? Was the sale of 300 million hula-hoops in 18 months a "minor" phenom ?
If Americans had the SLIGHTEST interest in the intrinsic value of music the jazz and classical market would not be 2-3 %.

IMO you just don't understand the tsunamic effect of the "next thing" in USA.

APPLE sold 10 million of the new iPhone in one day.
Not a hundred people really needed one .

If it is not completely fad why have there been almost no new vinyl releases of classical? Is classical music over or are the current crop of musicians no good?

Sure there are more hi-fi tables but those came about because there is more material, the more material cam about because of the hipsters. If the market suddenly dropped ~80% would the hi-fi vendors continue to make as many turntable options as today? Probably not.

Go to the single largest independent music store in America, Ameoba. Look around and tell me what you see? A huge rock album section and tiny jazz and classical lp section (both new and used). Is vinyl making a comeback because it is the superior rock format?

BTW I've seen hipsters in Asia and Europe. They don't just live in Brooklyn, but the ones in Brooklyn surely have set the tone.

Being a vinyl lover, regret that I have put myself in the camp that the vinyl resurgence is just a fad.

Go to vinyl dominated forums and look at the vast amount of posters who have obtained their first TT yet are completely unaware they need a phono stage. These folks are not interested in quality sound reproduction. Afraid they are just hipsters. Go to used record shows and try to find a vendor who actually has brought a quality player to demo his records with? They are all the equivalent of Fisher Price models. Now look at the people buying these used records and demoing them on this cheap equipment. Again, its been my observation that they are mostly young hipsters. I recently found a 12", 45 rpm, Japanese pressing of a Paul McCartney tune I really like for $30. The vendor offered to demo it on what seriously looked like a Kenner Close 'n Play! I told if he did, I wouldn't buy the record.

Read somewhere that 60% of LP collectors have no intention of even playing the record. From what I see at shows, I tend to believe this.

Sadly its just a fad.

"Go to vinyl dominated forums and look at the vast amount of posters who have obtained their first TT yet are completely unaware they need a phono stage. These folks are not interested in quality sound reproduction. Afraid they are just hipsters."

Go to computer audio dominated forums and look at the vast amount of posters who have obtained their first high res download and are completely unaware they need software that supports the format. These folks are not interested in quality sound reproduction. Afraid they are just hipsters.