The phonograph was introduced in 1877, this machine was created by Thomas Edison. His intentions in creating this machine was to ''transcribe telegraphic messages through indentations on paper tape, which could later be sent over the telegraph repeatedly''. Meaning that his intentions were to send messages in forms of a speech, thought and data into a written or printed version. However instead of his intentions, through many experiments Thomas has created the Phonograph, this occurred when he placed a diaphragm onto the machine which would move on the paper, he then changed the paper to a tin with a foil wrapped around it. This machine was placed in both recording and payback categories as it obtained two needles and two cylinder...On for recording and the other for playback. 

The way the Phonograph now works is that, attached to the diaphragm there would be a funnel, and below the diaphragm would be a  tin wrapped in foil, which had been developed into wax, cylinders. The way it is used is, when an individual speaks into the cylinder, the acoustic waveform travels into the funnel  and causes the diaphragm to move according to the waveform, the needles then engraves into the wax cylinder making it a recording machine. In the end with the other diaphragm when the handle is turned the needles picks up the sound embedded and travels back out of the funnel making it a playback machine. 

The Gramophone was invented in 1887 by Emile Berliner, he was the first person to put Phonographs at a halt with the use of cylinders but instead he used disc shaped materials. He invented glass, Zinc and plastic discs which obtained grooves. The function of this machine was exactly the same as the Phonograph including the equipment except the use of wax cylinders being replaces with different disc objects. The Gramophone started as a recording and playback equipment but after 
     From this, the discs became bigger so that more songs could be etched into it,  as well as the machine being able to function on its own rather than having to reel a handle to spin the disk. This then birthed vinyl records which are still used now.  Later through developments the acoustic horn was replaced with an electronic amplifier to make the sound more louder and clearer. The Gramophone started as a recording and playback technology but after these developments of the machine being able to hold more songs as well as functioning by itself, customers would instead buy record disc, making the machine into an only playback device.
http://www.recording-history.org/HTML/musictech5.php  

the autograph was introduced and dictated within 1945, it recorded music by pressing grooves into soft vinyl disc. The same point with a diamond would be used within the needle in order to record any signal. The audograph was manufactured by Fray Manufacturing Company of Hartford which is located in Connecticut within the USA. The Gray Audograph would be considered as recorded and playback technology because it records music into vinyl in which you are able to playback using the same device. Many of the music record was during the time of John F Kennedy Assassination.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Audograph 

The Dictabelt was introduced in 1947 where instead of using vinyl the device would use soft plastic. the Dictabelt was designed to record the voice meaning that recording songs and music was not the best use of the device as it wasn't designed to do so. Within 1947 Dictabelt were mainly seen and used within offices however within wars the Dictabelt was used as a logging system and was also used to crack codes from allies. The way the Dictabelt works is similar to how the Audograph works however the audio would engrave grooves into the soft plastic using a needle stylus, this also allows the device to play back what was recorded making it a playback technology.

http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/other/Dictabelts/dictabelts.htm

The reel to reel device was introduce in 1948 in which was made to record and playback signal. The way that it works is that the signal produced is sent to the 'Record Head' in which a magnetic tape is reeled from one reel to another, both reels have their own name, the left reel being the Supply Reel and the right being the Take Up - Reel. The signal is then printed onto the magnetic tape which is travelling over the record head. The Supply Reel would contain the empty tape and the Take Up Reel would contain the engraved tape. The playback head would have the function to amplify the voltage pattern within the head and the Erase head has the function to erase the signal before being recorded.  
http://www.d.umn.edu/~mharvey/th1551reeltoreelcassetteda.html

The cassette was introduced in 1962. The cassettes are very similar to the reel to reel however smaller and covered within a plastic container, in order to record onto the cassette would be having to place it within a recording device. Another difference would be that the side of the cassette is smaller than a reel to reel, meaning that it would have two miniature wheels that record the signal. The cassette were famously used within cars due to the advantage of being small as well as being able to rewinds and erase the signal being recorded. Between the 1970's and the 1990s cassette tapes were the most common formats for prerecorded music 
http://www.says-it.com/cassette/mixtape.php

The 8 track Cartridge was introduced in 1965, it consisted of 8 tracks due to the space of the cartridge, hence the name '8 track cartridge'. The way that this device works is demonstrated in the diagram to the right. The cartridge contains a wheel with 1/4 inch tape in which plays on a continuous loop, the tapes is pulled from the centre and follows the path across the front of the cartridge and through the playback head, which is still similar from the reel to reel device. The 8 track cartridge is mainly a playback technology used for pre - recorded technology in which is recorded using a stereo cartridge recorder. 
http://kajafax.co.uk/2011/07/20/kajagoogoo-white-feathers-album-on-8-track-cartridge/

CD's were introduced in 1982, they work similarly to old vinyl in terms that they record in spirals on the disc. During playback the CD starts reading from the inside ring and reads towards the outside of the ring. The way that this works is, a laser beam shines on the ridges of the CD, the beam then ends up on the data layer. During playback the beam is at a constant speed whilst reading the disc, the data on the disc is then converted intro electrical pulses or in other words Bits which are a form of numbers of 0 and 1. [The data on the disc is converted into electrical pulses, or bit stream, using reflections of the laser beam that comes from a photo electric cell. The laser strikes when it is reflected and reads the disc. Optical scanning is the way. The difference in the height of the surfaces between ridges is a quarter of a wavelength.]


http://answers.ask.com/Computers/Hardware/how_does_a_cd_work 

The digital audio tape was introduced in 1987 which was developed by a company called Sony, the features of the DAT is similar to compact cassettes  in which uses  magnetic tape and is protected within a plastic cover. The purpose of this is to record digital signal rather than analogue, hence the name of the device. The way that it works is very similar to the cassette however it can only be recorded on one side of the tape. These tapes became more popular for pre-recorded music as they were used within tap recorders and within cars that had cassette players built within them. They were similar to Cassettes however the DAT was able to store more music as well as the efficiency being faster and more accurate. 
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Digital_Audio_Tape.html

MP3's were invented in 1989 by a GErman company called Fraunhofer - Gesellshaft who developed MP3 technology. MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer III and functions in the way to compress music files smaller without losing any bits or signal from the original sound, resulting in a better quality sound. The music was then stored within the MP3 in which would be played back to the listeners, however the MP3 didn't have speakers like a cassette player meaning that the listeners would have to use stereo headphones in which would be plugged into the MP3 in order for it to be heard. Another point to this is that as the music was compressed into small files it meant that more music was able to be stored within it in which appealed to people as they were able to store 
http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventions/a/MPThree.htm

This is a video showing a demonstration on how to use a phonograph.

The video above represents the history of the Gramophone along with the developments and 'upgrades' you could say of the machinery.