Quiet Tonearms/cartidges??

I have a fairly good system and am considering revamping my turntable. I really haven't played vinyl in 20 years. When I did, I would buy an album, clean it, zap it with my Zerostat, then record it going through a DBX 224 and then play the tape. This would eliminate most pops and surface noise, while also allowing me to play at high volumes without any rumble. I have been reading about the higher quality tonearms and cartridges and understand that the high end models virtually eliminate surface noise of LP's. Is this HYPE or FACT? I rarely play LP's now-perhaps because I have no really good quality way of playing them, and I must admit, I enjoy the convenience of CD's. OK - I'm sure all you vinyl purists are muttering obscenities. I currently have a 1974 Pioneer PL-71 turntable , with a Shure V-15 III cartridge, which was pretty much the best I could buy at the time. I have a Theta CB3 preamp going into Krell KMA 160 monoblocks, driving some Wilson Maxx's (series II) speakers. I'm using a Theta Miles CD transport at the front. My old pioneer turntable doesn't sound "bad", but when I look at some of the new analog stuff out there, I'm wondering if I'm really missing out on some good vinyl reproduction. Don't have the bucks to invest in a turntable to equal the rest of my system, but may want to get into a medium grade line of analog equipment. Do any of you vinyl guys (or gals) have any advice? (Blowing my head off, or ingesting poison is not an option)