Components I would have died for when I was a wee pup


Turn back the dial to 1976-1977 (I was 16-17). What did I really want? 

Thorens turntable or a Philips GA212 with a Shure V15,Type 3 cartridge
Tandberg receiver
JBL L100 Century

what did you have in your cross hairs when you started out? 
128x128zavato
An all Revox or Tandberg set up with Snell A/IIIs and the room to put them in. :)
I started a little later, like the mid '80's.
So, more like a Rega Planar with a SME 3, a pair of Vandy 2's, I forget what I wanted for amp and pre- but the preamp was tubed. 
A pair of DQ-10's also made me drool. I ended up with a BIC Soundspan 600's, which weren't that bad. (Sold them to my ex who liked them, too).

Oh well, it took me 30 years, but I finally got the Vandy's.  I am glad I still remembered.
Erik
when i worked at the now defunked "Discerning Ear" in md. We sold the full tandberg line . We had the whole rig including reel and cassette, pre , power , tuner ran through the all new mg3a in a treated room . It was and still ( sentimental i guess) one of my all time favorites.. It outshined even the big class A luxmans at the time . Vpi hk and an lp12 w/ a maggie tonearm oh the memories..
I started out with a Harman Kardon 330C but the cats meow was the Nak Dragon cassette and the RX505 auto reverse table and all the Bang & Olufsen stuff.  When I went to college a few years later I remember loving the Mitsubishi receivers with the rotary tuning dial and gorgeous huge Denon TT's.  
Love at first sight/listen: Empire 698, Pioneer SX-1250, Watkins WS-1a (Infinity/Watkins Dual-Drive woofers) when I was 15 years old. Way more $$ than I could afford at the time. Bought all of the above a couple of years ago as my vintage system and, by gum, it sounds as good as I remember on the rock of that era and so beautiful.

Dave