Cartridge forgiving of "non-audiophile" recordings and pressings

If you have an appropriate tonearm, I second the SPU recommendation. I consider myself more a music fan and record collector than an audiophile, and I find the SPU really suits my needs. I do have "more advanced" designs, but I keep going back to the SPU. If you of many mono recordings, it will handle those well too--especially if you have a mono switch on your preamp.

I agree that the better the rig the better the sound. 
In that light, MMs with excellent tracking will do the job well within your budget, such as the Dynavector above, a Shure V15, an AT, an Ortofon 2M black or Cadenza bronze / black, or the recommended Clearaudio.

I have to disagree with @gregm's suggestion of the Ortofon 2M Black. With its Shibata stylus profile it is ruthless in terms of showing off any and all warts on vinyl that is in less than pristine condition. It is a good cart though. 

I've found my Soundsmith Carmen2 a great sounding and forgiving cartridge. It tracks everything very well.

I’m a record collector first, and I have stacks of vinyl of many genres that would never qualify as audiophile quality, either in terms of recording, pressing, or both. Note that this isn’t a problem of vinyl condition. We’re talking VG+ at worst.

I find that the various fine line styli are too fussy and revealing with these records. Nude elliptical have proven to be a better match here, a good compromise.

This opinion is false. If you’re a collector then I assume your records are original pressings. Those records are second hand and nearly all of them have been played with average styli (conical or elliptical at the best) if they are not from another audiophile. Since vinyl was main format of music back them do not expect second hand records are from audiophile’s collection. So most likely deep groove walls are still virgin, because conical or even elliptical stylus simply can’t go there.

All you need is to clean your old original (secondhand) VG+ records for use with ADVANCED PROFILES like Shibata, LineContact, MicroRidge, FineLine, Stereohedron, Parabolic, Replicant-100 etc ...

... but never use them with the same conical or elliptical stylus that other people have been using them for 40 years!

Learn a bit about vinyl groove walls and about stylus radius (different profiles).

Only advanced profile (not a conical or elliptical crap) can make your used OLD records sound better! It’s because only advanced profile can ride in untouched part of the groove wall!

I'm not buying "audiophile" pressings, but I have some? I will never buy them again. Any original Japanese press is better that new audiophile reissue. However, most of my records are US originals from the 70’s, many of them are strong VG+ or better. Playing them with conical tip is only degradation in sound. Advanced profile is an upgrade for all vintage vinyl, even for mono.

For under $1k you van buy some amazing MM or MI cartridges from the golden era, with advanced profile and often with exotic cantilever. You'd better buy a spare styli for MM than just an MC cartridge (imo).