Getting back into venal with a $2,000 budget.

@jeffrey75, I’m in no rush to purchase.  I’m enjoying the journey of researching and the hunt for a Turntable that will best suit my needs.  One that sounds good to me and is a GVFM.  I’m not looking for or picking out and isolation platform, I only mentioned it and the dust cover because it was included in the price of the used Marantz I demoed.  I’m 2 1/2 hours south on Minneapolis, so nothing really close to me.  There are some Hi-Fi shops up in Minneapolis that I plan on visiting when time allows after the Holidays.

I really appreciate everyone taking their time and providing me with valuable input.

Happy & Safe Holidays to All

Happy hunting and good luck!

I ended up with the Rega P3 but I also considered Pro-ject and NAD and used Marantz turntables. There are a lot of Rega P3s on usaudiomart under $800.  

U-turn makes a nice table that includes a built in phono stage for under your budget. Will it beat the setups mentioned in earlier postings? Maybe not. Will it get you 90% of the way there and be plug and play? Yes! I believe it comes with the Ortofon Blue cartridge for around $1100. 
 

https://uturnaudio.com/products/orbit-theory-turntable

The U-turn includes a dust cover.