TT mats

My VPI Superscoutmaster has the aluminum platter and I use Herbie's Audio Labs Grungebuster Mat. Protects the records and sweetens the sound a bit. To clean, I remove it from platter and run it under hot water. I love mine. Looks good as well...

Noromance, What you experience as "energy suck" is what some others might experience as proper dissipation of spurious energy that would otherwise generate resonant frequencies audible in playback. I am not saying that you are "wrong" and the others (including me) are "right". I am only saying that this is one of the eternal debates in audio. How much damping is too much? So far, for me, the BA Mat2 is the best I have heard for conveying a very neutral sound. I use the term "neutral" to indicate that I do hear a reduction in colorations that might be generated at the cartridge/LP interface. (Perhaps this is what you call "energy suck"; I cannot deny that those juicy colorations are addictive.) Paradoxically, another favorite mat, for me, is the SAEC SS300, which is metal, and so one would think that it does not interface with the LP as energy as the Mat2 might do, because the latter is made of graphite or something similar to vinyl in propagation of energy.

I have really disliked rubber or rubber-y mats that I have tried.

Waiting to hear from fans of the Resomat, for a completely different take.

Another mat to try is the Funk Firm's Achromat for $100. Its secret material is foamed PVC. Identical stuff that signs are made out of. You can get the 3mm thick sheets at any sign store, or even Lowe's/Home Depot in any color and cut a circle out. They run $10-$20.

@lewm Nope, the graphite wasn't good. The music died. Sucked away by the void of eternal damping. It sounded different from other sources -CD, DVD, PC and car. All different rigs but similar sound. The Mat just robbed the music of soul. It was a gift and I couldn't live with it so I sent it back. 

I guess I'm a zombie, in that case.  To each, his own. The BA mats have lots of fans, not too many detractors.  What turntable, tonearm, cartridge?  I use the BA Mat2 on my SP10 Mk3 with Reed tonearm and ZYX UNIverse cartridge.  I also use a Mat2 on on my Victor TT101 with FR64S tonearm and a few different cartridges.  I do also like the SAEC SS300 mat on the Victor, about as good as the BA Mat2 but slightly different sonic balance.