Help educate Analogue rookie

A couple of points as far as your budget is concerned:

One, unless you have a full function preamp, which has a phono stage built into it, (doubtful, as it is not necessary to have that to run digital sources), you will need to get a phono preamp. (If you are running the CD directly into your amps, you may need a line stage preamp as well, unless you decide to go to a full function preamp or a phono preamp with a volume control.)

I highly recommend that you get something decent like used EAR or ARC phono preamp. A cheap phono preamp will really keep you from getting really good sound. Try to spend a few hundred to close to a thousand dollars on a decent to a good phono preamp.

Two, you will need to invest in some record cleaning supplies. I recommend a used RCM, like a Nitty Gritty or a Record Doctor to get you started. These really help in keeping your records sounding their best, and they help in cleaning quite a bit. Expect to spend a couple of hundred dollars on cleaning supplies. (I bought a used NG 1.0 RCM, and it works just fine.)

As far as specific turntables, entry level tables by: Nottingahm, Basis, VPI are all good choices.
(I bought a used Basis 1400, w/Rega RB300 arm, and it was a very easy table and arm to setup and not a tweaky type of table.)

I recommend buying the table and arm used (from a good source) and preferrably a local source as well, as shipping turntables can be problematic. This will enable you to get twice the table for your money.

I also recommend buying your cartridge new and having your local dealer install it on your table and arm. This will save you a potential headache, as they know how to adjust the VTA, VTF, azimuth, etc.. (Things that are tough for a newbie to figure out.)

Good Luck!

PS Feel free to ask lots of questions!

I really like the sound of my turntable and now use it about 50% since upgrading to an Arcam FMJ33 CD player. The soundstage with my vinyl has a bit more depth, and is a little more expansive. The individual notes also seem to have more depth and with my vinyl system it is a little easier to get lost in the music. I do however love my digital system I now have, Arcam plus Hydra 4. For me the biggest reason to have both is that there is a great deal of music that is not, nor will it ever be on CD. It greatly expands my music library. I do admit however that on certain recordings, Neil Young, "Greatest Hit", Starker Bach Cello Suites, I have both CD and LP and when I sit down to a dedicated listening session I will usually play an LP. With a good digital system I am very happy, but when I play vinyl I am in awe. I also don't really have any problems with a lot of noise. Many people who come to visit I surprised how quiet my albums are. I do use a RCM.

As for turntables, I bought a used VPI HW19Jr with AQ PT6 and put on a new Dynavector 10X5. Nice easy system with not a whole lot of cash outlay. If I was going new I might look at the VPI scout. I may be upgrading in a year or two and am looking at the Nottingham Spacedeck, I heard one recently and fell in love. But most importantly would be to get the assistance of a good shop that know turntables well.

I find that the surface noise and occasional static pops are far easier to listen to than a lifeless CD. I'm glad that SACD has caught on fairly well in the classical genre. I like to listen to classical on SACD, where there won't be any static pops or other spurious noise during extremely quiet passages. Rock music, however, is always better on vinyl. The generally higher and consistently louder levels mean you won't really notice the surface noise, unless the record is really dirty or scratched. Just the other day I listened to the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" for the first time in years on my vinyl rig, and couldn't believe all the fantastic bass playing by Sir Paul that I had totally forgotten about because I've never heard it on the CD.

Cheers.

I would agree with Onhwy61 that you really need to think about the cost of acquiring a good LP collection if you don't already have one. This is you're biggest issue. Good hardware is easily available. In fact, there are better turntables and cartridges available today than there have ever been. Research music direct, acoustic sounds, red trumpet, Ebay and Gemm to see if the stuff you want is available at a price you will pay. New issue LP's are worthless if not completely analog mastered (many are not). You might as well buy a CD.
Finally, don't pay attention to Porizob above who doesn't know what he's talking about. I have hundreds of used LP's from the 50's and 60's with no pop's and clicks. You might hear a little surface noise between the tracks but on the tracks, any slight surface noise is completely overwhelmed by the lucious sound of the music. If complete silence is your criteria for quality, just turn off your system and it will sound perfect!

I'm more into vinyl now than ever, and I'm just starting over. My first record was Sonny- hey, I was a kid! Then I bought The Doors. I was the proud owner of a Clarion turntable, worked all summer and bought some more albums. It wasn't until I had numerous debates with friends at Garfield H.S. in East LA that I finally saw the light and started buying Buffalo Springfield, Cream, Zappa, Ry Cooder and others. My friends were, and still are David Hidalgo, Conrad, Louie, Frank Gonzales, Skunk...
Then after many years, early 80s, I went to the dark side, or I should say the harsh side. I liked the convenience of the CD and I thought (as I still do) that the sound was pretty good. But one thing I missed was the ritual of playing an album. First, look at the cover with great anticipation. Most of the time the covers are a real piece of art. (I'd be glad to send a photo of some albums on display in my listening room- my poker playing friends love it). Second, pick a side. Place it on the platter, take your brush and let the recored rotate underneath it, careful not to place so much pressure you slow the platter. Be gentle. Drop the arm and hurry to your chair, couch, next to your buddies, sweet thang, or maybe your dog (before he takes up the whole sofa). Take a sip and/or a puff. Then listen and hopefully groove by tapping your foot, bobbing and weaving at the texture of Jimi's sound, or Aretha's pained pleads, or Janis' ripped heart. After that first side, the excitement usually leads me to another LP, another artist, a different genre, just something else, because like a drug, you don't want it to end. Perhaps Clapton and the Dominos are just so good, that nothing else will match their intensity, so you choose something mellow- maybe Coltrane to send you off to a different world, way deep into the galaxy. But, your back in your room as the record ends to seek out a different one.
I like albums because you don't listen to an hour+ of one artist, you listen to maybe 40 minutes and change the record to stay engaged! I like the way my mind is going through the motions of selecting another LP as the stylus approaches the leadoff. Sometimes as I grab the next cover and I place the record on the nitty gritty, I change my mind and I must hear Ella (wish I had Diana Krall on vinyl). Maybe the only thing that will end this listening session is the baddest of them all- Django. Or perhaps, the Budapest Quartet doing Eine Kleine Nacht Music. I can imagine Rhassan digging that!
There is a smoothness to vinyl, the sound is not pins and needles, but waves of peaks to the heavens, and, dips into darkness. I would love to replace my Music Hall 5 SE, only because I can hear the potential for more involvement. I replaced an old Pioneer turntable which i purchased in the mid 70s. I replaced the stylus 3 times. I gave it to a friend after I got the M Hall 6 months ago. I'm at a loss of where to go, what turntable to get- any suggestions are welcome- $2500 is my max.
I now have over 200 Lps, most purchased within a year. I buy at estate sales, Goodwill, etc. Look for Lps that are in good condition. Kurt_tank (above)makes some realistic points to consider.
I use a BAT 3i (tubes, phono, remote), Aragon amp, Avalon Speakers, Music Hall table. It sends me, it moves me. Find a friend like mine who has over 2000 albums, most in VG+ condition, and lets me take 50 at a time. My favorites at the moment are Little Richard- King Richard, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Pure Ella, Duke Ellington, Love, Professor Long Hair, Flying Buttito Brothers.
Don't let the pops and clicks bother you, a few ain't bad. Of course you don't want too many. Hope this isn't too long and fragmented, but I'm not listening to any records at the moment.