Is a GREAT turntable under $2000 possible???

Not unless you spend $1000 on tweaks.  

A great table is one that sounds better than my class A digital.

The short answer is  NO

A GOOD  rig can be had, but not a great one; the cartridge alone will hit for 1 K ; I would say  4K for impressive sound, and that would include the cartridge.

From my experience, and a whole lot of other people a, Rega P-3 is the place to start, and tweak at your convenience; sub platter, tone arm wire, platter, heavy weight for tone arm; these items will make a Rega sing.

Knoll Brent, what are you trying to tell me?

There are many factors for a "great" sounding table; scrutinizing adjustments is one of them.

The most important factor is the cartridge for you; initially you should buy the cheaper cartridges, and when you like one brand over another, buy one in the vicinity of 1k in that brand; this is for a long time, you won't regret it. Cartridges in the vicinity of 1K are very competitive, meaning they're all good, but in different ways.

I have a Grado Master, it's for jazz and female vocal, not for rock. Experiment as much as possible.


          https://www.needledoctor.com/Rega-Planar-3-Turntable



This is a good table, tweaks and the right cartridge can make it a great table; I have one that's tweaked out and it really sings; sounds better than class A digital.