Is it worth expanding into Vinyl???

............maybe.

The two are quite different. One very telling fact for me is that I can buy lots of music variety at low cost - clean the records and play and enjoy or play and discard depending on my taste and the condition of the vinyl.

One could have a trial run by buying a used TT - Rega P3 or Music Hall MM5 and a few albums at a local thrift or goodwill.

If you like them you're golden. If not you can sell the TT for near what you paid for it.

Having grown up in the 60's and 70's I listened to a great deal of vinyl and have since listened to a great deal of music on CD. Actually, in my childhood household there was a large collection of 78 rpm records. Drawbacks to both - for one thing vinyl requires handling with extreme care and essentially wears down each time you play it - though not much with current systems. I knew audiophiles back then that were compulsive about the care they gave their vinyl but you still ended up with unwanted pops and clicks due to damage. On the flip side (pun intended) CD's of some 60's and 70's music often do not sound like the original vinyl. For example, I purchased the Beatles White Album as soon as it initially hit the record stores. Over the years I gave away, left at an abode, sold, or lost the record so many times that I repurchased it at least 5 times. I no longer have the vinyl but did purchase the CD. I listened to every track on the old pressings several hundred times. The CD does not sound like the original vinyl. When I first heard the CD I though it was just my imagination. However,in an interview, George Harrison made the comment that he did not recall hearing certain sounds until he heard the CD, and he was one of the artists. Now I am not saying that the sound wasn't there on the original masters - could just be that the transfer process wasn't all that great. That to me the big drawback to CD's of music from prior to development of the CD is that you may not be hearing was there at the time. Remastering is also popular and has advantages - it sounds cleaner. It also has disadvantages - it changes what was there. It depends on what you are after. I obviously see the value of vinyl from a nostalgic viewpoint. If you are after the most authentic 60's sound then vinyl may be the way to go as to that music. One issue is whether the new vinyl pressings sound the same as the original pressings. People into vinyl can probably answer that question. The systems on which most people listened to the original pressings at the time they were first released did not approach the quality of the current systems. So if you are after the sound of that era I doubt that you would have to spend much to get there.

Yes, IMO, expanding into vinyl is worthwhile if one has a grand or so to spend and is curious about checking out the medium for the first time or returning to it. I would recommend the Music Hall MMF-5.1 based on the experience I've had with my MMF-5. It's generally in the price range you quoted (maybe a little higher with the 5.1....my 5 cost me $650 a year ago). My CD collection has more or less collected dust ever since I purchased this table with the stock cartridge. Trouble with vinyl is that there's sooooooooo many upgrades that appeal to the mechanical aesthetic that curiosity gets the better of nearly everyone who delves into it. I'm enjoying the music more than ever since I got my turntable but I'm always wondering just how much better that other cartridge or other entire analogue rig would sound. Conversely, for most folks of average technical aptitude like myself, a digital media player isn't something you can tweak and tinker with to the same degree...

I also agree with Tvad, although I am a hard core vinyl-man.
Quite apart from the money pit he mentions, new vinyl pressings are often questionable in quality (full of clicks and pops) and in buying old vinyl you can never be really sure of the quality. I have to agree with Jaybo. If I were in your shoes I'd rather hold on to my money until high res. digital downloads became reality and get a music server or a suitable USB or firewire DAC for the laptop. I believe you have to spend more money than what you are prepared to spend to make LPs sound better than what you listen to now. Stickman451's advice is good, but he spent a lot more money it seems, than you are planning to. You will be opening a Pandora's box. Just my 2cents of course.