Portland (OR) - You just might see vinyl records being sold the next time you visit your favorite music store. Several retailers are bringing back these ’blasts from the pasts’ and for one chain, Fred Meyer, it started with an employee data entry error.

While ordering a popular CD, the employee accidentally inputted LP instead of CD. When a box of records arrived, the store popped them on the shelves just to see what would happen - unexpectedly they sold out quickly. Subsequent batches did equally well. Now, Fred Meyer is testing out vinyl sales in 60 stores in the northwest and Alaska and will be adding records to all of its stores in July. Now other retailers are also trying the same thing.

The RIAA (yes that RIAA) says record sales jumped 36 percent from 2006 to 2007. While that sounds impressive, you have to keep everything in perspective. The organization says 1.3 million records were sold in 2007 while 511 million CDs were sold during the same period.

Read more ... Associated Press via CNN