Records generally do sound better. MP3s are highly compressed digital files composed of bits of information made of ones and zeroes. Records, on the other hand, use analog wave patterns which are cut into the physical body of the record. This wave pattern is tracked by a stylus, turned into an electrical signal through the cartridge, filtered and boosted, and then sent to an amplifier where it’s further boosted and played through a speaker. On good speakers, this creates a richer and more detailed signal than an MP3, that sounds arguably more “alive.”