Sound quality of new vinyl recordings.

@grislybutter     Do you mean 7 inch EPs?  (extended play).  The Beatles issued quite a few in the early-mid 60s.  They were mono, as I recall.  I had most of them at the time, gone now I think my brother has them.  They played well but were a bit flat at the frequency extremes.  But then my father's record player wasn't up to today's standards (Garrard, then Goldring Lenco - he was into hi-fi).  Mono cartridge with stylus as fat as you like.

The Beatles were lucky.  Their contract was with EMI.  The Stones were luckier - Decca.  My original UK 'Aftermath' has great sound by any standard.  And nearly 30 minutes per side for goodness sake.  Of course Decca famously turned down the Beatles in 1961.

@clearthinker they are regular 12". Mostly from Yugoslavia. 

I'd be happy with EMI :)

Lenco is a great band. My first turntable was Akai. As my story goes, I didn't have money for a turntable until I was 22. But I had an album collection before that, for 2 years, about 30, from my high school friend who needed money and sold it all for a small amount of money. I browsed and looked at my albums for 2 years before I could listen to them. I didn't mind, it was a luxury back then, most people couldn't afford more than 2 or 3 LPs a year!  

I am still chasing a few Stones albums from the 60s of course.

@grislybutter 

Sorry. I read 6 " as 6 inch.  My mistake!

I am lucky and have nearly all the 60s Beatles LPs as original UK pressings.  They are mostly good, but the MoFi are a noticeable improvment.  I only have three of those.

I would like to buy the earlier Stones albums too, but everyone knows they're good and I won't pay the price.

I bought a Connoisseur turntable kit in 1969, £8.99 as I recall and a second hand SME 12 inch, only about £12 - wow..  I built a wooden plinth.  I sold the SME about 30 years ago for £65, to a Japanese, and they are hundreds and hundreds now.  When my father died 10 years ago, I sold his 9 inch SME for nearly £200.  He still had the Lenco and I gave it to a thrift shop.

@clearthinker

wow, lots of great antique turntables!

one more funny story: we grew up on a book called the Beatles Bible. It was written by an English professor who was allowed to travel to the West so he must have had "information".

I read it probably more than 5 times. It was about the Beatles, chronologically, their story with a lot of interviews and quotes.

It turns out, half of it was made up, most facts were questionable. The dude could write anything, nobody would know. How weird!

@randym860 - there are a lot of good turntables in your price range; I've got a Technics SL-1200G that's right in there and I've been very happy with it....