how much should I spend to get a better turntable than my current turntable?

If the OP bought his MH from a local dealer they owe it to him to make his lemon right. I work for a Pro-Ject dealer and we handle cases like this when they come up. Pro-Ject models below $500.00 may be regarded by some audio snobs as junk, but all of them have very decent arm bearings with little play and low friction, and use quality leads and replaceable output cables. The Fluance table I have seen had lots of play in its bearings and Rega Planar 2 output cables are captive and utterly ordinary. For the OP I would suggest he take a look at the X-1, or take the DD route and go Pioneer. 

@grislybutter Sorry you had a bad experience with the Music Fidelity MMF 2.2, I am having a good experience with a used MMF 5.3. However, I purchased from an online retailer that set it up properly. You may want to make a trip to a dealer or find someone locally who can properly set up whatever you purchase, if you don’t buy new, from the factory. I dropped $1,100 on the used MMF gear plus another $400 or so to upgrade to a decent hi-output moving-coil cartridge. Before that, I had attempted to get two used DJ tables operational but never managed to eliminate hum emanating from an unshielded transformer. I finally solved the setup problems I was having with the MMF purchase. Cartridge setup and turntable maintenance is not for the faint of heart.

just my $0.02.

Should have bought the mmf-7.3 to begin with....a fabulous sounding turntable as is....

Perhaps take a look at the VPI, Rega or Clearaudio ranges of turntables to find your price/budget point. Then you can begin your search for a cartridge!

I see the OP’s TT listed at $299. My budget was similar to the OP. I ended up with a U-Turn Orbit Plus (around $600 total I think after the "upgrade" to the acrylic platter) it came with an Ortofon 2m Red which I plan on upgrading to the 2m Blue stylus one day. I’m happy with it since I play records only about 10% of my listening time.

I’ve seen great Fluance reviews. The main difference between the RT-83, 84, and 85 are the cartridges they come with. If your budget is low get the RT-83 and upgrade the cart when you can. It sounds like your budget for a TT and cart is in the $1000 range total.

One thing to consider is whether this is going to be your only workhorse TT and what albums you will be playing. Do you shop for used albums locally or at flea markets, yard sales and such or only play pristine "new" albums? If you do shop used, it can be pragmatic to get a TT with a removable head shell. Buy an extra head shell and put a low-end cart on it like a $99 Grado Black or a $69 Audio Technica. Use THAT one to play the used vinyl to make sure they are OK before trusting your better cart to them.

I have an ancient Technics P-Mount with a $30 AT EP-85 cart in my den I use for testing used records before trusting them to the newer U-Turn.