Certainly not! You can't live in them, you can't eat them, and I doubt you can take them down to the shops and exchange them for a new TV!
I suspect the increase in prices is down to fact that:
the economy is good and disposable incomes are high.
many people are ?returning? to the scene having jettisoned their kids, paid of the mortgage and are in better position to folk out for that record they always dreamt of owning.
credit is very, very easy to get and you can put you purchase and eBay bid on the plastic ? no more asking your dad to write a cheque out for next month pocket-money to 'Soul Bowl'!!!
a lot of people new to things do not realise that most records are not that rare and therefore not worth the prices currently being demanded.
dealers are not collectors and thus want to get as much for a record as possible
people publish price guides full of over inflated prices, not realising Americans can read!
Many collectors like me have been collecting for 20+ years and have bought the fast majority of their collection and 'wants' at a fraction of the going prices. And I suspect that the only records going for big money in 10, 20 years time will be the truly rare ones that we all would like to own ? Lester Tipton, Magnetics, Andantes, J D Bryant etc, etc ....you get the picture? (My must have, before I die, wants list is about six records long)
Twenty years ago I bought Ace Spectrum for 50p. In twenty years time I will be shitting myself about my lousy pension, and I very much doubt they'll be many people willing to give the equivalent of 50p for it then!!!