But can can any good quality vinyl rig track those well? How hard is it and what does it take? Does it take an audiophile vinyl setup to track modern pop recordings like these well? Cost?@
For the most part, 'any good quality' vinyl rig will do the job, depending on what is meant by 'good quality'.
I run a Triplanar and I've yet to find anything it can't track effortlessly. People often ask if I'm playing CDs because there simply isn't any distortion (although it is smoother than CDs usually are) and since my preamp is designed with good high frequency overload margins (which isn't hard BTW), my playback tends to be free of ticks and pops.
I run an an LP mastering operation; we use an old Technics SL1200 I got on craigslist for $400.00, for testing to see if our cuts will be playable by a non-audiophile setup. I Installed a Grado Gold in it, and it works really quite well. Of course there are a bunch of things you can do to a machine like that- KAB has lots of cool aftermarket parts for it. So if you are on a budget you can make it happen if you are careful.
The role of the platter pad should not be overlooked! If it is too soft it will affect the bass, if its too hard the highs will be emphasized. The platter pad should be able to absorb vibration from the LP so that the playback is more neutral. So felt and the like really don't work although they are great for DJs.