suggestions from square one, sortta

You can download the manual for your receiver here, and Hesson11 is correct; you need a phono preamp between your turntable and this receiver for it to sound right. How much budget might you have for this?

You can get a phono stage for less than $30 here; if you're willing to spend a little more money, this should be a good value. If you're willing to pay more, Music Hall has one at $150.

My personal favorite under $200 is the Cambridge 640P.

I own the turntable you bought & I have a Cambridge 640P. Those two are a good match. Trying to save some $, I tried a $60 pre and got what i paid for, not worth it.
A year later I have a hyper-eliptipcal stylus from LP Gear, a few used platter mats for different records (grams), a big block of wood (base) and a nice array of cleaning supplies. $700+ got my foot in the door and have not bought a CD in a year.

The Bellari phono stages are another real bargain in your price range.

As to your broader question, most people here refer to the idea of music from your computer going "around the house" as a "music server". Basically you have digital files from itunes or something similar, and use your wireless computer network to get sound to your stereo and/or other stuff. The most popular item in this regard is the Logitech Squeezebox which connects to your receiver and receives the music files from your computer.(I bought one here used for $160!) They also make a boombox that works similarly. Check out Logitech's website and also the cnet.com video review to get a grasp of this fast-changing stuff. Search archives here on "server" and you will see many conversations about options here. It's changing fast and getting cheaper, like most computer stuff. Cheers,
Spencer

hey thanks for all the replies. i was waiting for an email to let me know someone responded here, but that never happened. luckily, i stopped back by.

so, im going to start looking around for a used or discounted preamp. it looks like the used Cambridge 640p's sell fast on this site.

but before I do, would it be smart to think about tossing out my craigslist pioneer receiever for something that might include an integrated phono amp or look into a new receiver that matches up with a specifically with some other preamp and my MMF 2.2?

or, will something like the Cambridge 640P remain a good fit, even if I do a receiver upgrade down the road?

thanks again!

Most current receivers suck. Buy an integrated amp or better yet, separate power amp & preamp. Analog tuners won't have any stations broadcasting in a couple of years anyway. Internet-based radio is a free bonus on the Squeezebox and other digital music server devices. Cheers,

Spencer