What are your top 3 favorite turntable companies (manufacturer) and why?

Historically -

Rega - because Roy Gandy democratised high quality sound.

Roksan - because they broke through the veil of Linn's propaganda and paved the way for the diversity of turntables that don't use springs.

Technics - because they showed that direct drive can work.

Along with a small amount of rubbish, there is so much diversity and quality in current turntable design that even a shortlist would be a long list.

Gotta throw this in there. Is this the equivalent to Bose ..in the turntable market? Let’s not forget Slovenia.

https://maglevaudio.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooC4G32QVWxf-hqYHs84VDqWs6eb2Q_-WmgqhXghzOicvDEaZug

Along with a small amount of rubbish, there is so much diversity and quality in current turntable design that even a shortlist would be a long list.

It's sort of shocking how many different brands and models we have now for such a tiny market. I suppose it's a small number of us buying / selling / trading amongst each other! 

The materials quality is super-high in modern high end turntables. But the engineering is a bit all over the place!

Rega & Basis. Both very well made & engineered but not over engineered. Both pretty much set up correctly & just enjoy for many years of trouble free listening at two different tiers of quality & of course cost. 

@mulveling Thanks for answering about Clearaudio parts. I haven't ever needed to buy such parts (and I have my original boxes). When I ordered my Innovation I got an extra 30mm standard armboard for a 2nd Universal arm. That was $500. It seems steep, but with the Clearaudio higher end I guess ya just gotta pay to play.

It seems no worse than what people pay for stuff on a Linn LP12 (like $10k+ for their new plinth).