What makes for a "great" turntable?

Mass. A good TT will have mass. Everything everyone said above is correct too, but IMHO a very heavy platter contributes to both speed and image stability - especially if you're using a clamp. See SOTA.

I think linn should get off the "follow the tune" crap when it comes to the linn sondek, and start with designing and building a Turntable for this century.

It is my belief that the price asked does not always indicate the quality of the turntable, or any other component for that matter. What does make some products standout from others is the philosophy of their designs. Everyone knows that the audio chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you have a great system, but with a bad tube in the amp you get a poor result. The same goes for a turntable or any other component. Each piece in the audio chain has to be looked at as an entity in itself. A turntable that would be stellar overall may fall down when a compromise exists which would lessen the intent of its design. It is the same with a speaker, an amp, a tonearm, or whatever. That's the rub because a product in a line that doesn't have maximum attention to detail, or was intentionally made to a lesser price point, often overlooks some aspect that would otherwise strengthen the overall design, hence the weak link in the chain. The problem with all this is the price tag you're going to see when everything is done right to an OCD level. Suddenly, that $5,000 system becomes a $150,000 one. Sure the turntable is a part of it, but it doesn't stop there. Any piece of a top system needs such attention or the result is compromised. That's why a $30,000 turntable is usually better, and that's why a $30,000 preamp is usually better. The same goes for any component. The caveat is that some of those products somehow manage to miss the mark for whatever reason. All you can do, assuming you have the price of admission, is make judgments based on common sense, your ears and careful research. All that said, an item on the extreme of high-end audio can be good enough that it will immediately be apparent to even the casual listener that he is hearing something very special. Unfortunately, one that doesn't meet the standard stands out like a sore thumb at this level of system performance.

Mapman,
You got it right with your second sentence, and Swampwalker said it a different way. But most important in all of this is to have fun listenin-ta-rekkids, and part of having fun is not stressing about it, so I agree that for many listeners, autolift is a great feature. The number one difference between a $30,000 table and a very well-designed table purchased used for 80% less is... well... $24,000. Usually that also means something in the looks and bragging rights department, but I don't need a work of art to listen-ta-my-rekkids.

more than ever,it would appear that a turntable's price is somewhat 'contingent' on how 'tall' it is, and how its 33&1/3 rpms is better than the other guy's 33&1/3 rpms (those at a lower elevation). many i know with a house- full of records(literally) couldn't tell me(of the top of their head) what the model number of their table is, or the make(and year purchased) of their cartridge . in most cases, it's a garden variety panasonic or dual, and after 30 or 40 years its still spinning at 33&1/3 just fine. I guess that makes for a 'great' turntable.