Recommendation on a basic turntable setup

@bdp24 definitely look into vpi. Thought it would be over my budget. I guess I'm not really fixed on that either. I found a few old record stores nearby and it seems like a fun hobby. For $5 it is worth a try.  I still have a large collection of sacd that are just sitting there. To me it is more of a fun process, I'm far from being a perfectionist. I would try to stay away from cleaning lp gears but we'll see I might get the bug. 

I got some interesting choices. Always wanted a classic vintage looking TT so the pioneer has great reviews but looking like it is for a dj.  But the pioneer with nagoaka mp-150 sounds like a very good value combo. 

Since your just curious about TT's at the moment and don't want to make a huge investment and sounds like also do not want to fuss with it too much (for now), I'm going to recommend a Denon DP-300f with a Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge.

It did me well for a while. You would probably be able to find the Denon used in good condition too.

It's full auto and has a phono pre-amp built in also (although you did state you have a phone in).

As far as record cleaning goes, we all agree. Although even Steve Guttenberg admits to using his kitchen sink(!) Anyway an (great) inexpensive item on eBay usually ($20 plus) available is a "Label Saver". It's a start. Good Luck Sean!

Thank you for the kind words and suggestions.  Sounds like the Denon DP-300f with the Ortofon Blue might work.  Also, I realized my Sonic Frontiers preamp does not have a phono stage.  I do have a Audio Research LS26 preamp with the phono stage but cosmetically it doesn't match well.  :)   

I am pretty sure I will eventually need some cleaning tools if I decide to move forward with this hobby. I'll be sure to check eBay.  

Who knows I may end up w/ multiple TT setups since I do have 3 separate systems right now.  This setup being the smallest system of the 3.

A SpinClean does a great job for cheap. It's my go-to for a quickie.