A needle drop is a common term used to describe a version of a music album that has been transferred from a vinyl record to digital audio or other formats. Needle drops are sometimes traded among music collectors, especially when the original vinyl recording has not been released officially on a subsequent consumer format.
Other reasons for trading needle drops include the lack of availability of certain recordings on digital media, the non-availability of less compressed versions in digital form, or the lack of availability of certain versions or mixes of that record, e.g. mono or stereo versions, or the loss of the master tape. The term is thought to have been coined in 1949 by recording engineer Peter Goldmark during the first rush of transfers of lacquer and 78 rpm records to the then-new long playing 33 ⅓ RPM format.
The Daily Omnivore 
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