LP's... Do they sound better now than 30 yrs ago?

I have studied vinyl cleaning intensely in my own rig. Every record, old or new, should be thoroughly cleaned prior to play (not every play, just before it is played on your equipment.) To clean a record, it is necessary to cut off the natural oils to release the dirt held by these oils.Special cleaners and diluted denatured alcohol is what I found to be most effective. 

Once you have a clean record, the surface oil must be replenished.If not, you have a diamond riding on soft vinyl and every play will add ticks and pops as the diamond carves the vinyl. Use Grove Glide with the understanding that less is better than more. And no, I have no interest in promoting this product beyond that without it, you will not be treating you vinyl in a manner that results in maximal care and enjoyment.

If you dont like LPs you can send them to me. I'd be delighted to take any and all off your hands.

As for gear, someone already mentioned the bullet proof Rega Planar 2, I'd add the RP3 as well, these are plentiful on the 2nd hand market, and while not everybody's favorite, they are easy to keep tuned up unlike some finicky sprung turntables. They give a great sound, just make sure your support is not prone to vibrate, a reasonable cart like the Denon 110 will sound great and you can upgrade the tonearm wires (RB250/300), replace the the mat, and sub-platter  as you want later. (These are manual so if you need a tonearm lifter get a Thorens Q-Up to stick on).

Thanks for all the input! I think I wont waste my money on a 2-300 TT. I will save up and buy something better. Sounds like I would be better off buying old lps that are in good shape! Thanks Again! More Input would be fine!

@markmendenhall - there are plenty of threads here and on other fora that sing the praises of US cleaning. I've owned both the Audio Desk and the KL. But, since I'm buying a lot of old records, particularly UK and EU post psych stuff, circa 1967-71 or so, I need the ability to clean out groove grunge that, in my experience, ultrasonic alone doesn't always effectively accomplish. I use US cleaning in combination with a vacuum machine, and for problem records, use a fairly strong cleaner- AIVS #15, followed by a pure water rinse. My next ultrasonic will be a DIY, because it offers more flexibility.  Many of the DIY US adherents get in way cheaper than the made for LP machines, but I'm after the feature set and flexibility. I use a point nozzle type vacuum machine, which doesn't have some of the issues that the more conventional wand type vacuum machines do. Rushton Paul wrote what I think is a seminal article posted elsewhere on this site, synthesizing his learning from a very lengthy thread on DIYaudio on US cleaning machines; he also experimented with filtration, a pump, and chemistry (the surfactant that breaks surface tension of the water and enhances cavitation). Well worth reading in my estimation.