Top used turntables under $500

A little over budget but a whole lot better proposition is a Pioneer PLX1000. Clean, dynamic and just sounds right and looks awesome. A Nagaoka MP110 is a good starter cartridge and is extra.

+1 noromance! I bought a PLX1000 after reading HR's review in Stereophile. I wanted to try a newly mfgd. TT - all the rest but one (Ariston RD11S) are second-hand. Herb is right! Undoubtedly the best budget TT/arm available! I have a Denon 103D on mine. If the PLX1000 cost twice the price (like the Technics) audiophiles would like it more! Snob appeal counts for a lot in the Audiophile World!

Just picked up a second Technics SL-1700mk2 that needs a little rehab and restoration for $250. I’ll have to put new interconnects on it, a headshell and cartridge, and do a full tear-down, clean, and lube. Should have somewhere near $700 into it then. The other one I have got the same treatment plus SL-1200mk2 feet and dustcover, and sounds wonderful. 

Townshend rock elite - brilliant design - not the greatest finish but very very effective

@lohanimal, your nomination of the Townshend Rock Elite is interesting. It IS a brilliant design (I’ve owned one for a quarter century), but I don’t know that you can acquire one for under $500. They rarely become available (I include Townshend in my Hi-Fi Shark search "preset"), and when they do they sell for more than that. The last marketed version of the Rock---the Mk.7---goes for over $3000 used, so that’s no help ;-) .