Best bang for the buck turntable?

Consider the vinyl setup you heard, if you really liked it than that might be what you should go for then decide on your budget, you can spend as much as you want. Do some research to find what cartridge(s) you might like. Look for a used turntable with the arm that will work well with your chosen cartridge. If you have a $3k CD player you might consider that as a budget ballpark. I have more invested in my phono setup (new tt, used arm and cart - not including the phono preamp) than CD player.
Carl

A used VPI HW-19 MK3 with any good tonearm.

KAB modded Technics and Rega P3 (soon to be changed) are classics. I would not think too hard about anything else.

I think a $1k turntable will disappoint next to a $3k CD player, especially if a cartridge and phono pre are included in the $1k.

I would say you should budget nearer $2k total as a minimum, with something along the lines of a VPI scout, Nottingham Spacedeck, or Acoustic signature deck, and then choosing a $300+ cartridge to match the arm, and then a phono stage to match the cartridge.

If you've never setup a turntable then I'd recommend some dealer dems where you get the whole package from a dealer, who should also setup the cartridge and deck.

If you don't already have lots of LPs I'd focus on improving CD playback.

I would say the TW Acustic Raven One at 5K, with arm, is one of the best values in TT. Below that I would recommend the Acoustic Signature Final Tool at about 2.5 k