Don't do it records are for hipsters

http://store.uturnaudio.com/

buy a actual computer you fuck

My dad got me this for Christmas last year. It's only $100 and so far it sounds great. The black suitcase design makes it easy to travel with without being too over-the-top hipster looking like those shitty crosley record players sold at Urban Outfitters.

Here's a very detailed guide to pretty much everything you'd need to know about setting up something like this. Pick and choose advice at will based on what you're in search of.

Oh, also, if you hadn't known of that site already its main message board is an incredible place to keep up-to-date with new releases and presses. I'm Deer on the forums if you need a familiar face to look for.

I'm a huge vinyl nerd and have a sizable collection so hit me up if you need direct advice about stuff that might not be on there.

whats it like being the funniest person alive?

My father worked as the dj who switched old school records for the radio. Take it from me, NO MATTER WHAT, DO NOT damage the magnetic head/reader thingy whatever you do. He did once, and it took him 10 years to find someone who could repair the damn thing.

The cartridge/needle? Or the tonearm? Cartridges tend to be fairly easy to replace and on standard, more modern models, they're readily available (older ones, maybe not so much). Fixing them, yeah, that's another thing entirely. Best to get a good modern turntable with replaceable parts.

monitor audio and creek makes nice stuff, with a nice tt that should be a nice stereo system

you pretty much have 2 options though with your very limited price range,

a) (easy) you can get a new very basic turntable such as the U-turn basic or the cheaper new pioneers and get a better cartridge for like under $300

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Audio-Components/Pioneer+Turntables/PL-30-K

http://store.uturnaudio.com/products/orbit-basic-turntable

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Hall-Driven-Turntable-Cartridge/dp/B001FUF8FQ

b) you can go for a vintage one, which will offer a much better price/performance, but you also encounter issues with aging/etc. A lot of people will keep them in really good shape and even upgrade/refurb older turn tables. You can get world class 70s-80s turntables refurbed for around 300ish, and will perform MUCH better than any new turntable under $700-1000

a small amount of research on vintage audio forum will give you some great ideas as far as pricing/quality/brands models to look for.

you can check local craigslist, ebay, audio classified, and if you are in no rush to get the turntable doin some research into vintage can really pay off.

2 great models to look for are AR-XA and the technics SL-1200 (quite hypey and goes for 400+ often but you can get lucky paying less than 300)

in general all vintage denon/technics/rega turntables will be nice

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AR-XA-TURNTABLE-REFURBED-EXCELLENT-/291634982381?hash=item43e6ccaded:g:avQAAOSwAKxWZ6OP

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TECHNICS-TURNTABLE-SL1200-IN-GOOD-WORKING-CONDITION-VINTAGE-RARE-HTF-/252214688752?hash=item3ab92abbf0:g:39sAAOSwv-NWYI1p

I recommend the Pro-Ject Debut III if you just wanna buy new and keep it simple. Its only drawback is the minimalist design which some people find a little annoying because it lacks certain features that most turntables have, namely a switch to change rpm automatically rather than doing so manually. But the actual quality of the thing is tremendous for the price, if you're willing to up your budget to 300.

You'd be hard pressed to get a better modern tt for that price; however if you're patient and willing to do some research then I'd recommend buying used. It's sort of like building your own computer rather than buying prebuilt; more work, better bang for your buck.