Turntable versus tonearm versus cartridge: which is MOST important?

@bobbydd I understand what you are asking. But in making your point you used hyperbole and made the comparison impractical. @miilercarbon addressed this. But for SQ purposes and practical purposes, you are not going to put an expensive cart on a cheap turntable and you are not going to put a cheap cart on an expensive turntable. So the answer is there needs to be a balance. The cart needs to do the turntable justice and vice versa. 

+1 chakster! I do the same with vintage TTs, arms and cartridges! 

So, which would sound better:

1. A state of the art $10K cartridge on a $500 table/arm
   
2. or a good $500 cartridge on a $10K table/arm?
   

I would probably go #2, or a $750-$1250 cartridge on a $5k table/arm.- Noting that the cartridge is somewhat of a consumable item.

So in the obligatory car analogy scenario:

• The cartridge is like the tyres.
  
• The arm like like the alignment and suspension all in one.
  

You want the table to run smoothly, and the arm to track well.After that, then one wants the cartridge to be compliant with the arm.

If funds are limited spending a big chunk on a consumable like a cartridge is downright foolish. 

The cartridge.

No matter how you improve your tonearm and/or turntable, if you have a crap cartridge, you will NEVER get good sound, whereas the other way round, your chances are much better.