A number of reasons. The fragility of vinyl and the price of good replay. The rising costs of the raw materials, pressing plants and reducing margins. Home taping. Portability.
For the average Joe, not in possession of a top separates system with expensive turntable, the CD represented a huge step forward in both convenience and sound quality. It was soon possible to have high quality sound whilst in the car or on the beach - and production costs shrank to tiny levels in a reasonably short period.
In contrast, vinyl costs were soaring and pressing plants were increasingly having to keep costs in check by lowering the quality of vinyl used. This led to inferior releases, making CD's inherent advantages even more apparent .
So in short, convenience and pure economics were every bit as much the drivers here as anything else. And the fact that vinyl survives thirty years down the line has a lot to do with it now pandering almost exclusively to those with the equipment to extract the performance inherent in the medium in the first place.
Meanwhile, those without such electronics have moved from the money spinning CD's envisaged by the record companies, to illegal downloads and streaming services. Some might see a touch of irony in that.
