Help with TT ideas for my first TT

Many cartridges have a lifespan of at least 1,000 hours. That said, I know some have gone beyond 1,000 without issue. Keeping the needle clean is probably as important as overall lifespan hours. I believe Clearaudio states their lifespan to be 2,000 hours, so it may be hard to go wrong with that purchase if it is otherwise in good shape.

The really bad pops that make it through the music are caused by a deep scratch usually caused by miss handling, It is very rare to have a record come with a scratch like this. 
As for stylus life there are several variables that are important. First is quality of the diamond. A pristine clean diamond is critical. Any inclusions will cause accelerated wear. Good diamonds sparkle white when viewed with a USB microscope. Then there is the shape of the diamond. The more diamond that contacts the groove the slower the wear. Older spherical and elliptical diamonds are going to wear faster than modern fine line types. Then there is tracking force. Too low is just as bad if not worse than too high as the cartridge starts bouncing around in the groove pounding into the groove walls. One play like this can ruin a record. Always set up your cartridge with an old record you do not care about. 
Playing dirty records never helps. A stylus is always going to collect some lint on occasion. This is harmless. A ball of gunk stuck to the stylus is an indicator of dirty records and means a change in record hygiene is indicated.  

Good tips, my tracking force is within spec according to Mofi, but will see if I am having some issues with the cart as the pops do seem to continue compared to people recording their sessions or their rigs are just more quiet.

So I tried out the clear audio cart with David Brubecks lp.

Wow what an experience, were there pops? Yes, did I care not really as it was just part of the experience.  Could be a great recording, could be a good cart, could be both but there is some thing special going on for me.  The segregation. Of Instruments is just fantastic, I can see the snare and symbol of the drummer, the piano is fantastic, as is the breath of the carinet.

welcome to the world of higher quality analog sound reproduction

wonderful journey, but slippery slope :)

like many of the finer things in life, it is hard to imagine how good 'good' is till it is experienced first hand

enjoy