Both of the terms date to when all commercial musical releases were on vinyl discs ("records.") An "album" meant a release of usually about 40-60 minutes of music consisting of 8-15 songs. This used to be how much music could be fitted on a 12 inch record that played at 33 1/3 RPM (revolutions per minute..) This was called an "LP" (long-playing record) or an "album." The term is still used to describe modern releases, and the amount of music released as a collection still often conforms to the old standard. A "record" could mean any type of sound recording released on vinyl, but more often it referred to a "single" or a song the record company wanted to promote to get airplay on radio stations. "Singles", "records" or "45's" were 7 inch records with a larger hole in the middle that played at 45 RPM.