Betty, I love that you still play your records...I do too, and have all the vinyl of my youth still (and a generous donation from Daddy that I am still sorting through). Somewhere in the mid 90s, I took this 19 yr old boy home from the Now bar (it was a long time ago if that is where I met him as I have not been there in years)...and he said to me once in my apartment "wow, you're old, you have records," like my apartment was some museum. Well, if the album fits in the sleeve...and I chose to overlook and gloss over the youth's comment.
You are right about the fetishy aspect of a new record. I don't get the same thrill from opening a CD as I did from an new album. I remember how cool I felt when a friend's older brother taught me to open the plastic wrapping with friction by rubbing it against your jeans and voila! and the album just slid right out ready to be played. I am from the generation that loved the double album cover for its multi-functional purpose, not just for more glamorous pictures, but you could use it to sift out seeds from...you get the idea.