Help Picking a turntable

You didn't say whether you're getting "back" into vinyl or vinyl for the first time?

There are ads on AudiogoN everyday from people who try vinyl and it just isn't for them as stated above by lowrider.  These people usually lose a lot of money selling their now used vinyl rig after only a few months.

My advice is to start with a lower priced rig and see if you really like it.  I had a friend of mine in that exact same boat.  I recommended the new, reintroduced Rega Planar 3 ($945) with a Ortofon 2M Black ($755) cartridge.  I just set it up for him and I was flabbergasted at how good it sounded.  He is mighty impressed also.  He bought the combo from the same dealer and paid around $1500.  Great place to start.

Very solid advice by mofi, lowrider & sbank above.  With hardware, I prefer Sota and Rega along with Ortofon & Dynavector, but hardware suggestions are irrelevant at this point.  You have a tasty ARC rig that is capable of revealing very minute detail.  Instead of getting on a merry-go-round of empirical testing and upgrades, do your homework and understand what you're getting into first.  The table, arm and cartridge are just the beginning, as others have noted above.  Source material, surface cleaning, storage, position in your rack, phono stage, interconnects, all must be considered.

$3K will buy a very nice vinyl set from any one of a number of companies, but because of the rest of your system, deferring gratification toward a larger investment made later could be a more prudent course of action.  Your system would definitely reveal the improvement possible going from a $3K level to a $4K level.  Many of us who've been spinning vinyl for years will swear that digital simply can't compare.  I am one of them.  The best way to discover if this might be true for you, of course, is to take the time to do some auditions.  There really is no substitute for this step.  Yours are the ears that must be satisfied, and this stuff is way too much $$$ to guess about, even at the entry level.

Since we all have the vinyl disease (otherwise, why would we post here), you can ask for input whenever you need it and we'll happily tell you what we think.  With that in mind, keep us up-to-date on your journey.  Enjoy your exploration of vinyl and happy listening whatever you decide!

Get your hands on a VPI Classic 1, 2 or 3 before they discontinue them......
I have a dealer who will give you a very competitive discount.......

I suggest this over the prime, as the heft of the non suspended table,
will give you a solid foundation for any cartridge you ever want to throw at it,
without compromise......

I'd suggest starting with an Ortofon 2M Black and move up from there......

Another vote for Nottingham Analogue. Not well known, perhaps, but the quality is superb. I have used their equipment for 19 years now, and built  my all-ESL system around it. 

Amen to the VPI Classic.  Very good table at its original price.  Discounted, its a great deal.  That VPI arm mates very well with an AT OC9/II.  Hard to beat at twice the price.