Cassette Deck??

you might go to a pawn shop and find a sony, kenwood or denon for 50 to 75 bucks. [i found a 350 dollar kenwood for 10 bucks at a flea market that has been playing fine for 3 years.] if it looks clean and not wore out it might give you some good service for a long time. see if they would give you a 30 day exchange and then clean the rollers, demagnetize and start enjoying. the other option is find a nakamichi or other high end deck here. good luck but be prepared for some old tapes to have dropouts and other deterioration.

Check your local Craigslist for a Nakamichi or Denon or a Harmon Kardon.

I would say to a avoid Nakamichi - many used a tape head configuration peculiar to Nak, so that any tapes recorded on a non-Nak deck will sound odd. Naks also tend to be pretty persnickety. I've owned a bunch of used decks over the years - I'd say a Sony, Yamaha, Denon or Technics are your best bet. I agree with the suggestion to go to a pawnshop or second hand store - cheap decks tend to be thick on the ground. As other have suggested, be sure to clean the heads and rollers thoroughly - I believe Radio Shack still sells a decent cleaning kit.

Sorry to disagree, but don't avoid Nakamichi. I have three
and thousands of cassettes to go with them. Yes, I occasionally get one that won't play well, but I usually
blame the age or condition of the cassette, not the Nak.
Spend a few bucks and get something you will be glad you own years from now. Don't be suprised if you like the sound so much that you begin adding to your cassette collection. You may never want to let it go.