Want to Start vinyl

If you don't already have a record collection I would not bother. It's getting harder to find good used vinyl and new vinyl is very expensive.

I would recommend, at the low end of the price spectrum, a Rega P1. It comes pre-mounted with a good Ortofon cartridge and is a very solid performer. At the high end of your price range, the VPI Scout is a true high-end product. An excellent turntable.
You may, however, need to put money aside for a phono pre-amp as well, because your current system may not have a phono input (HT receivers rarely have a phono section). Phono pre-amps can be had for as little as 50 bucks, and can go into the thousands of dollars on the high side.
You will also need to put aside some money for record cleaning accessories (from $25 for an Allsop Orbitrac manual system, to $500 for a VPI 16.5 if you decide to get real serious about vinyl).
Good luck, and welcome back!

Tom

There are a number of good turntable in the price range you mentioned. Remember that you will need a turntable, tonearm, and cartridge, as well as a phono stage either in your preamp or as a standalone. The phono stage should be matched for the type of cartridge you have, either moving-magnet (higher voltage output) or moving-coil (lower voltage output). I would suggest turntable models from Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, or perhaps Thorens. Some of these come as a package of table, arm, and cartridge. You will want to set the table up correctly, which many dealers can do, or you can buy setup kits. Another high recommendation is a record cleaner, which will make your records sound better, protect them, and best of all, allow you to revive used records. This can save a lot of money over trying to find them new and make it easier to find titles you want. You can buy used records on ebay and audiogon, as well as other internet sellers like Records by Mail, Elusive Disc, Earthwave Records, and others.

The only way I would start lp again would be if someone in my area say an old person just wanted to get rid of a good collection at a fair price, than and only than would I start lp playing. But to start hoofing it all over again searching and locating and paying the price for new vinyl well just "forgettaboutit"

As the previous posters have noted, there is a variety of good turntables available at modest cost. I would disagree with the respondents who suggest it is too late or difficult to buy used vinyl. If you live in or near a major city, used vinyl stores can usually be found. I always check used vinyl in locations where I travel and usually find one location worth a side trip. There is always e-bay and Audiogon as well. I probably have purchased several hundred LPs (out of a total of 6000) during the last 2 years. It's out there.