Vinyl collection, now what?


Hey folks,

Just inherited a really interesting collection of records from my audiophile crazy uncle.
Lots of master and super master pressings, a complete Time Life Records collection, Sheffield track records, etc.

I have never owned a turntable and know very little about them.

Does anyone have experience digitizing tracks to file using a USB turntable?
Any recommendations for or against?
Am I looking at something potentially very expensive?
I haven't looked through everything but saw lots of albums I would like to digitize.

Thanks everyone!
hleeid
So I decided to not attempt any record digitizing.  At least not for now.

Also decided to take the plunge into vinyl.

Started looking up the many candidate turntables suggested here.  
Wow! 
A whole new world of technical/design here!  A lot of new terminology to get familiar with.

Some serious works of art out there!  Some of these don't even look like turntables!

Guess I never really understood and appreciated what goes into designing and engineering hi end turntables.

Enjoying the search though!
I do not have experience with USB turntables, but do with digitizing records.

Partially good move on not digitizing them. It is a project, it is a chore, and it is time-consuming. If you can find CDs of what you really like, I would strongly recommend it. I did many records I just could not get any other way.
What does your uncle suggest and will he guide you through setting up a deck?
Thanks aewarren!

@yeti42  - My uncle has not kept up with current gear for a few years.  He did say he will help me with setup.
hleeid, nice snatch! You get the lucky guy of the week aware:)

If you have an Apple computer get the Channel D Pure Vinyl program. It will copy your collection to Apple's iTunes library (soon to be called Music) in 24/192 and download album graphics and song details automatically. The program includes digital RIAA equalization so ideally you would get a phono amp w/o equalization. Channel D makes several inexpensive ones of superlative performance. This also negates the need for a USB turntable. As for the turntable, that depends on how critical you are and how much you intend on spending.
As for all you die hard vinyl/analog guys out there I have news for you. If I played back a record and it's 24/192 copy you would not be able tell the difference. The copy will sound just as analog as the real deal unless I turned on Pure Vinyl's pop and click eliminator then the copy would be obviously quieter. 

Hleeid, congrats, you are on your way to a fabulous music collection. One word of caution. Turning these records into digital files is going to take a very long time. Pure Vinyl gives you a head start but still, doing all those records in real time will take you years and you will have to intervene every 20 minutes or so. I would certainly weed out the albums you obviously won't listen to.If you decide to get Pure Vinyl (this is the program Mike Fremer uses) and you need some help with it feel free to contact me. Once you are use to it it is a breeze. As an example it will start recording automatically as soon as it detects a needle drop and stop on reverse. If you put an autolifter on the turntable it will take some of the stress out.