The history of music players

Phonautagraph

Jan 1, 1857

Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville invented the phonautagraph, a device that would record sound, but not play sound.

The phonograph

Nov 25, 1877

Thomas edison invents the phonograph, a machine that played back recordings

The Grammaphone

Nov 8, 1887

Emile Berliner invents the grammaphone, a machine that used records to play sound

The electric record player

Feb 10, 1925

Joseph P. Maxfield and Henry C. Harrison create the first electrical record player.This machine was also able to record instruments at the low end of the frequency spectrum.

the first transistor radio

Dec 23, 1947

the transistor radio was created by bell labrotories. The first machine you could take with you and listen to anywhere

The first portable stereo

Sep 24, 1954

The first portable stereo integrated speakers into a record player, allowing people to take their record player with them.

The walkman

Jul 1, 1979

the walkman was the first personal music player that combined an audio cassette player and headphones.

The first compact disc

Aug 17, 1982

The Compact Disc offered higher quality recording, and increased durability compared to an audio cassette

the first MP3 player

Mar 20, 1997

this machine eliminated the need for another media to hold music.

Apple's First iPod

Oct 22, 2001

The iPod made digital music significantly more popular.

iPod Touch

Sep 1, 2010

The iPod Touch served as a music player, but also offered access to the Apple App Store, games and other features.