Every day I see another turntable recommendation...

To do vinyl playback right, you are going to spend some money. Turntable, arm, cartridge (yes, I know there are advocates of relatively inexpensive "giant killers"), phono stage (ditto) and potentially, a rack or other platform on which the table sits. 

I cannot pretend to have heard all tables, arms or cartridge combinations, but there is usually work involved in getting vinyl right (which also includes cleaning and routine maintenance, as well as optimizing set up, etc.). 

I don't necessarily want to get into the Linn thing, since in some ways I think it is dated. Maybe the current incarnation, with all the latest upgrades, is still competitive, but at what price? 

When the state of the art is into the 6 figures, you gotta get a little more critical unless you simply don't care about money. I have a fancy table and another one that was a big time table circa 1973. I currently use both. 

The hard part here is evaluating before you buy. Lots of variables. I kind of evolved into where I am, and have no great urgency to change. But for the person entering or reentering, it is daunting. There are (or were, subject to "supply chain"), more tables, arms and cartridges than ever. 

The how to assemble something that sounds good, is enduring and works with the system in its entirety still seems to be voodoo. Folks hint at it by talking "synergy." 

Or just spending money. It is very hard to sort out the wheat from the chaff. And, I'm not claiming guru status in the quest to do so. Part of it is the sound you like- idler, direct drive, belt drive all sound different. Then, go deeper-how much, from what era and what cartridge? So many variables.

No single "right" answer. 

@whart I like yourself have evolved into where I am at present with a LP Repaly Source.

I started out as a first attempt to build a dedicated HiFi System with a Belt Drive Linn Deck.

Not too long after I went for the Idler Drive Deck and have had these in a few versions, with completely rebuilt Platter Bearing Assemblies, as the main TT's in use for many many years. 

Today I am using Vintage Japanese Direct Drive TT's, of which the main used model has a Platter Bearing Modification, and is to undergo a complete new design to be put into use.  My other DD TT's are all to have a bearing housing with modern materials used to redesign the bearing.

My experience is that there can be endless efforts made to improve on a TT, but any of these only really seem to show their true value, when the Platter Bearing is totally optimised to function. Modern materials used in place of the parts selected when the design was produced, offer a very satisfying alternative.

Having purpose produced parts made, that are much improved in tolerances, over the generic parts used by the manufacturer, offers a much improved assembly of the bearing housing.

Additionally removing sacrificial parts belonging to the bearing assembly, that 'may' have developed a excess wear and 'potentially' been subjected to an non ideal environment to function in for many years is not a bad idea to consider either.

My experiences with the Idler drives with rethought out platter bearing designs is indelible, when the benefits of such a practice is recollected.

The start of this method used with the DD TT's is producing a very similar experience as well. 

Hence, why the Kuzma TT's have caught my attention, the Platter Bearing produced for this Brand of TT, even though a different design to ones I have work carried out on, is produced using materials that I tend to consider to be utilised  when a bearing is to worked on for me.

Given your confusion, I would recommend you buy the best Rega with the best rega cart you can afford. This way there are no adjustments and tweaking you have to do and you can relax and listen to records. BTW, your statement that you want to buy something locally that you can see and hear before buying is probably the most intelligent thing I’ve read here in a long time. Problem with most of the Tt’s is that the arms can cost more than the table. I have a Basis and the arm was over 4K years ago. Probably up to 5k by now. 

These are all great tables mentioned here. The worst will sound better than the best with very minor set up differences. Learn to align your cartridge and make minor adjustments in VTA. No one can do this for you, they don't have your ears and sound preferences. Make sure your room is good. A very modest system in a good room will sound better than a mega buck system in a poor room. A good dealer can be of great help with initial setup, making sure your arm is installed correctly.  

@cleeds , always a pleasure. Having owned two Linns I can certify that the AR XA is more stable than the Linn. The Linn is not tricky to set up at all. You set it up just like any other turntable. You just have to put it in a bullet proof situation, a very stable platform. The problem is that there is no reasonable platform stable enough. I sold the first Linn in frustration but back then I did not know near as much as I do now. After several other turntables it became obvious that the Linn sounded better than other turntables of the day so I wound up getting another one. I sold #2 in 1980 or so when I got my first Sota. What a breath of fresh air. 

There are plenty of videos showing an earthquake wave traveling along the ground. Obviously seismology is not your subject. Earthquakes are not happening on a continuous basis but they are happening all the time. Most of them so mild you do not feel them. Really big earthquakes, above Richter 5 are fortunately not frequent. 

Many audiophiles tap around their turntables to determine the level of isolation. Michael Fremer does this occasionally. Is a hammer excessive? Not if you want a turntable that is totally immune to everything. You may not want this but I do and there may be a few other nut jobs out there like me who want it also. I mention it just to let people know it is possible. I can bump into my turntable, drop the dust cover, run into the cabinet, etc and not only will it not skip but you can not hear a twitter through the system with the volume maxed out. The result is a dead quiet turntable. Is this excessive? Given that the background noise on the record is magnitudes higher, it probably is.  It certainly is for you.