Want to get into Analog

What's with this "analog sound"; millions of people threw their "crappy" turntables on the junk heap and never looked back; a cheap crappy record player, and a record of any kind will give you crappy sound that every body gave up when they got a CD player.

Personally, I'm not paying money for someone else's junk; there is way too much that can cause a TT not to be up to specs to chance a used one when you can get a new guaranteed one.

This stuff is rated by class in "Stereophile", and if you want better than a good CD player, you got to go to class "B"; otherwise you get something no better than a good CD player, and I'm sure you already have that.

The cheapest tables with arm come in at 3K. Cartridges come in at 1K, phono pre at less than 1K if MM with tubes preferably; total 5K. You can find ways to chisel 1K off the total, and still come out right.

Or, you can go to Crutchfield, and get everything for $399.


          https://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/turntable.html

The cheapest tables with arm come in at 3K.

@orpheus10  No, since Technics is back to business with Coreless Direct Drive (considered by many audiophiles as the best DD available today) and for very reasonable price, for example the 1200GR is under $2k and there are few more between $1200-1500 from Technics coming later this year. 

So the $3k mark is definitely not the cheapest. 
I think it would be hard to find anything close to the new 1200GR which can be purchaced for under $1700 used @inna  

Two things come to mind when reading this posts...

One, nostalgia and profit drive much of the comeback of analog turntables and vinyl. Much like the comeback of the Volkswagen Beetle and the Chrysler PT cruiser, auto manufacturers capitalized on the “I want the good old days again” mindset of middle aged consumers. When kinds were playing mom and dads records and turning away from CD or IPods, those sales of albums brought it back... which leads to my second thought.
Secondly, one MUST spend a very decent sum of money to begin to get good sound from turntable rigs. CD players are getting much better, streaming and digital downloads are offering hi-resolution files that sound very good and clean. Therefore a good turntable, cartridge, tonearm, phono preamp and record cleaner will cost you thousands of dollars to better digital sound. A vintage crappy turntable may come close but only if one really knows what to get and again you would spend a very good sum of money on a vintage Garrard 301, reconditioned or new.

I recently picked up a JVC QL-Y66F DD table with a Stanton 981 HZS cartridge for $545. Is it better than my digital sources (which isn't something the OP asked for by the way)? No.  Do the used records I buy sound really nice on it after a good cleaning? Yes! Do I get more enjoyment out of it than my digital sources? Yes! Is it more pleasing on the eyes than my CD player or DAC? Yes!

I have a more resolving belt drive table with a better cartridge and better phono stage that I play my best records on. It doesn't best my Marantz KI-Pearl CD player, but it's close.  For me there is some nostalgia involved, but I think more than anything else I get more involved in listening to records than digital sources.

I don't think everybody buys a turntable because they are trying to get better sound quality than their digital sources.  If the OP is looking for that with the budget mentioned then they may be disappointed, but if they're looking for a decent turntable in that price range they are out there to be had. Of course the definition of "decent" is subjective. 

**** Do I get more enjoyment out of it than my digital sources? Yes! ****

**** ....more than anything else I get more involved in listening to records than digital sources ****

Honest question: So, what exactly is it that, for you, still makes your digital sources “better”?