Is a GREAT turntable under $2000 possible???

hi brent, hope things are sounding great!
just a few comments about some of your questions-
some LPs can sound crackly even after being cleaned- but very few. if you have lots of LPs that sound noisy something in the cartridge setup might be off- possibly VTA too high?  
groove glide- don’t have a need for it.
i use this to quickly clean the LP before setting the tonearm down-
https://www.lpgear.com/product/AT6012.html

it’s the best brushing device I have ever used and tried them all. takes a little work but it does remove all dust etc. prior to a spin. i just rotate the LP by hand while using the brush.

also i use this cleaner ~ once a week or so for the stylus- some gunk just cannot be removed with the brush alone. a bottle of this has lasted 2 years and it’s still nearly full!

peace and happy listening!
https://www.lpgear.com/product/AT0607.html

Listening update!

Holy Moly it sounds amazing! The amount of information pressed into vinyl is ridiculous. The music is now full, detailed, rich, inviting. Adventurous...Enjoy just throwing on a record and listening from beginning to end. It's very calming.

My system's been together now for a month, time for everything including the new Tekton Electrons to burn in. The Electrons are sounding sweet btw.  

Ok, so here's the KICKER. I decided for giggles sake to pull my Piega C10 Ltds out of the closet and see how they'd perform in what I considered too small of a room. WOW! I'd forgotten how amazing that speaker is. They've been in storage for 10 years, just waiting patiently. 

They have no problem handling this little room and they're decently big. If you don't know about these speakers and you're bored, look em up. Piega in general is great but the C10 Ltds are bad mamma jammas. 

So for the first time too, the Piegas are Arc'd through my Anthem 520. Room is super tight now. I'll need to soften it a little with some treatments, but not much. AND they get to sing the praises of Vinyl. I never in a million years thought  vinyl could sound so good. 

Yup, that's it for now. A little treatment here and there with room and we're good to go. 

That's the update!

Thank you @avanti1960  I'll look at those links!

If you haven’t committed to the Lehman yet you might consider an upgraded Jolida JD9. A few more dollars and a bit hard to find used, but it gives you a huge range of loading options and sounds great.
sweet and detailed-both. 

@knollbrent - 

Great choice on the 1200GR. I don’t think there’s a better all-rounder for less than $3k than that table. I’m waiting for someone to put their 1200GAE up for sale, but might end up buying a 1200G if my patience runs out. 

To your question regarding Gruv-Glide, I’m a big fan! While I cannot scientifically say for sure that it does everything it promises to, I can say that it does a great job of cleaning the record & reducing/eliminating static. It doesn’t deep-clean like a a good ultrasonic or vacuum machine, but for everything else, it’s just great. In listening to records after applying it, I find that they sound fuller & richer, with quieter backgrounds. 

Just my $0.02 worth...Enjoy your music!

Arvin