I should probably keep my mouth shut because I’m sure I’ll get flamed, but — IMO, if you are starting from scratch, a turntable is a place where a nice mid-level consumer unit with a nice mid-level cartridge will do just fine. Spend your bucks on a nice receiver and speakers and get a Dual, Pioneer, Technics, Marantz or equivalent turntable with a decent Shure or AT cartridge (or equivalent). It will sound fantastic, and when you get your system going and get familiar with the sound, you can begin to experiment with turntables/cartridges as funds permit. To my ears, the difference in a $250 turntable and a $2500 turntable is certainly audible on the same system, but not $2250 worth.
Steve