PapaJoe,
I see that you have received some very good advise from fellow Agonners. But be warned !!!
You are getting into a new world here; in that there are so many things available that you will find yourself swept away in a spending frenzy (like I did) if you are not careful. I started out wanting to buy a turntable for only $300 but I could not find a good one at that price based upon reviews that I read. I ended buying three turntables to see which one I like. I bought a Marantz, Music Hall MMF 5, and a VIP Scout. I kept the VIP Scout, but I would highly recommend the Music HAll MMF 5, and it does come with a cartridge. You also have to consider the types of cartridges to use. I could not tell by just reading the reviews and the specifications, so I also bought a few cartridges to have a listen for myself. I like the Dynavector DV20H and the ortofon 2M Black. I have not yet decided which one to keep. Then you have to get a record cleaning system: this could be a record cleaning machine and fluids, steam cleaning system, microfiber cloth and fliuds, or a combination of all. I use a Steam cleaner, followed by Audio Intelligent fluids, then a Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. Cleaning the records is a must, not matter how you do it. Look at the threads here on Audiogon for record cleaning. Then you must have a good stereo system, good speakers, probably a phono stage. I use Mcintosh: Pre amp, Power amp, tuner, and CD player. and I have just ordered a set of Audio Space mono block amps, to bi amp my system (not necessary,I was told, but I just want to do it to see if I like it that way). You don't have to go crazy like some of us do in order to get a good sounding system. I think in most case its trial and error, and you have to listen to the equipment yourself before laying out your cash. A good resource is your local stereo dealer and if they will let you try out some things at your home, that would be a big plus. I go to this extent because I like listening to records, I only listen to CD when I am in the car, and to get the full benefit from playing records your system must be ready. And as I indicated before you don't have to spend a lot for such a system. You must also have good interconnect cables, and power cords. Check out Audio Art cables here on Audiogon, I am using their cables. Another thing to consider is vibration isolation for your turntable. I have a thread here on Audiogon that state what I did to get rid of most of the vibration. the thread is called: "VPI Scout Vibration Conquered with Home Brew Tweak".
I see that you have received some very good advise from fellow Agonners. But be warned !!!
You are getting into a new world here; in that there are so many things available that you will find yourself swept away in a spending frenzy (like I did) if you are not careful. I started out wanting to buy a turntable for only $300 but I could not find a good one at that price based upon reviews that I read. I ended buying three turntables to see which one I like. I bought a Marantz, Music Hall MMF 5, and a VIP Scout. I kept the VIP Scout, but I would highly recommend the Music HAll MMF 5, and it does come with a cartridge. You also have to consider the types of cartridges to use. I could not tell by just reading the reviews and the specifications, so I also bought a few cartridges to have a listen for myself. I like the Dynavector DV20H and the ortofon 2M Black. I have not yet decided which one to keep. Then you have to get a record cleaning system: this could be a record cleaning machine and fluids, steam cleaning system, microfiber cloth and fliuds, or a combination of all. I use a Steam cleaner, followed by Audio Intelligent fluids, then a Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine. Cleaning the records is a must, not matter how you do it. Look at the threads here on Audiogon for record cleaning. Then you must have a good stereo system, good speakers, probably a phono stage. I use Mcintosh: Pre amp, Power amp, tuner, and CD player. and I have just ordered a set of Audio Space mono block amps, to bi amp my system (not necessary,I was told, but I just want to do it to see if I like it that way). You don't have to go crazy like some of us do in order to get a good sounding system. I think in most case its trial and error, and you have to listen to the equipment yourself before laying out your cash. A good resource is your local stereo dealer and if they will let you try out some things at your home, that would be a big plus. I go to this extent because I like listening to records, I only listen to CD when I am in the car, and to get the full benefit from playing records your system must be ready. And as I indicated before you don't have to spend a lot for such a system. You must also have good interconnect cables, and power cords. Check out Audio Art cables here on Audiogon, I am using their cables. Another thing to consider is vibration isolation for your turntable. I have a thread here on Audiogon that state what I did to get rid of most of the vibration. the thread is called: "VPI Scout Vibration Conquered with Home Brew Tweak".