High-end TT setup with phono stage built in

The best choice here would be an EMT 938 or 948. Complete with cartridge and built in phono stage.

A friend of mine suggested the same.
These are vintage. How do I go about procuring one of these, it needs careful restoring by someone who knows what he's doing, right?

essrand, that is a rabbit hole I don't think you want to go down given your state preference for simplicity. The T+A G2000 or the SME Synergy are significantly better and will be way less problematic. Turntables are delicate devices. Worse, they tend to weight a lot. It does not take much of a blow to damage a main bearing and these vintage tables have been bounced around god knows how many times. Even if you rebuild them idler wheel drives wear quickly producing unacceptable rumble levels. There is a reason we do not build them any more.  

@mijostyn Problem is that I have yet to meet anyone who has heard either of these two plug-play high end tables.
Based on that and the responses on this forum, I guess I am in the minority of people who would like an high-end plug-n-play analog system.

That is correct essrand, it is an unusual request. SME in particular makes 1st class products and you pay for it. The T+A is somewhat more of a risk. I can't imagine that you would not be thrilled with the SME. I have owned several of their products and have always been pleased.