It used to be in the 80's when D/A converters were shit compared to the great 70's and 80's vinyl and tape players. Or in the 90's and 00's when most of the CDs were mastered loud and ugly. Nowadays it is what you say: digital really sounds better...

How come they're in quotes but you're better than them

If you grew up hearing the crackle, then to have it removed is pretty jarring. Some stuff feels to me like it benefits from it because it's kinda old-timey stuff anyway, and it sets the mood better - like the Beatles or Frank Sinatra. But it's not an audiophile thing in that case, just vibes.

A pure analog recording can be superior to digital recordings. But those are so rare these days, we don't have a good comparison.

There's things like "bass bleed" and cross talk that made analog so interesting to listen to.

As long as the original recording is 48kHz or higher, digital recordings are awesome. We might not be able to hear beyond the 20Hz - 20kHz, you can most certainly feel it. Especially in the lower end.

I agree wholeheartedly

Define "superior".

Better is definitely relative, but I think vinyl is much more enjoyable and experience for me personally.

also, I don't like the crackle so I religiously clean each side of the disk to remove any dust before playing and it sounds wonderful. I've gotten compliments to that effect so definitely worth the effort.