Help me make a decision! Turntable overload

Pioneer PLX 1000.

It is plug and play,  sounds excellent.  The bonus is that it also sounds  better than the other candidates you have. 

Pioneer PLX 1000.

It is plug and play, sounds excellent. The bonus is that it also sounds better than the other candidates you have.

What cartridge would you recommend?  

I listen to Classic Rock, Jazz, Indie, Electronic, Alt Rock, HipHop, etc...

+1 stereo5! I added a new PLX1000 to my collection. Best budget TT for the money! Add a good mc cartridge (I have a Denon 103R on mine) and you'll have years of vinyl enjoyment! 

For cartridge selection, you must settle on what turntable you want to buy first. The tonearm specs will dictate the compliance and mass of the cartridge, narrowing the field down from infinity to a few dozen in your price range. Keep in mind that indie, electronic and hiphop set the bar very low for sound quality, so even a $50 Best Buy crap turntable will do. For Classic Rock and Jazz, you want a cartridge that has great dynamics and soundstage over the full range. If those are your defining formats, and you need a medium to high compliance cartridge, the Audio Technica VM540ML will do very nicely. But as I said, you must choose your turntable first. 

Lets say the Pioneer PLX 1000 / Pro-Ject Tube Box DS PreAmp / Sony 2ch 100w/8ohm Amp / Infinity Kappa 8.1's Speakers.  AudioQuest Golden Gate Cables and Legend Audio Bi-Wire Speaker Cables.

And lets say that I will do critical listening and have a pretty good ear.  My musical interests run the gamut but lets set the bar at Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Lana del Rey, Tori Amos, Miles & Coltrane...

The EDM I reference is more Electronic than Dance:  Banks, Tove Lo, Zhu, Chet Faker, etc

I also love Reggae!

Now what Cartridges should I be honing in on???  :)