I had a Lux after my first Garrard. See a very interesting thread at http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=32003&an=0&page=0#Post32003
Of course, Linn was around then. I might have bought one except Igor, Ivan whatever his name is made such outrageous claims and I couldn't get a good demo. (Thank goodness I missed that tweakdom).
I don't see Micro Seiki mentioned. They were big.
I wouldn't exactly call it the "golden age." Finding good vinyl was a BIG problem. Just like double-compressed mp3 today, the masses were fed really crappy software. The major labels could care less about quality. There were a few great D2D albums, but most were "audiophile" in the worst sense of the word. (Good sound but no talent).
Oracle certainly did not rule. Thorens probably enjoyed the largest market share of the high quality tables. AR was a big player also. Empire was considered really high end.
Dave