Turntable, Vinyl help................please

Okay, after a 20 yr. absence from vinyl, I have decided to break out my record collection which consists of about 500
albums. I have not listened to these in 20 yrs! I am purchasing a Music Hall MMF-5 turntable which will cost approx. $600.00 after shipping. Please feel free to let me know if you think this is a good or bad decision based upon your experience w/a turntable. My question is this: Some of my albums were purchased used, which contain a fair amount of scratches on the album. If I play these on a new turntable, will this cause damage to the needle?
20 yrs. ago, I had a Pioneer turntable and didn't really worry about these things. Thank you all very much for your input and help with this issue.
Eddie
P.S. Feel free to give me any insight on any other turntable issue you may think is important for me to know.
Thanks again.