Considering going Vinyl--Please talk me out of it

best of all, you have to replace/retip those crazy expensive cartridges about every 1500 hours. insanity.

I'm still peering down into the void; keep up the input, as I am looking at a beautiful AR restoration/mod.....gulp!

I agree with Elizabeth and Hdm. If my house burned down today I would not replace my turntable and all my vinyl. Well, maybe not. Certainly not all 1500 albums, maybe only half of them and 1500 more.

Seriously: It is a wonderful hobby. Definition: hobby a hole in the ether you throw your money into. I re-started (after the 60's, 70's and early 80's)with my wife's Denon DP7 and an upgraded Ortofon cartridge. I quickly acqired a VPI 16.5 which I heartily recommend with appropriate ear protection. I then graduated to a Rega P5/Exact2 combination which is my first real high-end turntable. I'm having great fun with dollar bins, garage sales, and used record stores picking up Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash, Petula Clarke, or whatever to clean it and play it enjoying the music with just a slight degree of noise issues.

I was an immediate adopter of CD's because I thought I couldn't live with the pops and ticks. I've since found that I can.

So, welcome to the Dark Side. Come on in. But Beware! You can spend any amount of money on this hobby, or as little as you care to and enjoy it just as much.

Just DO NOT TRY ANY TUBE AMPLIFICATION!!!!!!!!! That way lies insanity, "they're coming to take me away, ha, ha"

I would agree with Hdm almost totally. At this point in the game it would not be very cost effective for you to try to get back into vinyl, in fact it would be quite expensive.
(That is if you are talking about quality vinyl playback)
But who said that this hobby is about cost effectiveness? It is in fact about doing what makes you happy within the confines of your budget. If you can afford it go for it because I can tell you personally vinyl is quite a bit better than digital. That is why I'm so glad that I didn't fall for the digital hype! I still have my 2000 plus LP's and my Linn LP-12 TT and every time I switch back from digital playback to vinyl I just smile and know I made the right decision.

If you don't already have a huge collection of Vinyl music that you desperately want to hear again (all that older nostalgic stuff in the attic or basement) then you need to ask yourself why all of sudden do you now show interest?

This is not something you just do because you want to collect and trade things like this and this

Vinyl collecting is primarily about the music. The music should lead you to Vinyl, IMHO.

If you struggle to find what you want on current formats and have a treasure trove of older stuff stashed away then by all means go for it.