Advice and recommendations needed for a turntable rig...

Again guys, thanks for the recommendations. I have an old friend, Mike, for whom I have been close with off and on for decades. He passed with Covid about 1 year ago and his wife told me he wanted me to have his turntable and albums. We used to listen to the Beatles when we were early teenagers. The Dual TT is shot, but I now have 3 crates of old albums. I think buying a TT and listening to those records will help keep my good memories of him alive. So that will be part of the ritual for sure. I have waiting long enough to do this, even though I am a digital guy now. I do understand the big investment part. My budget is upper limit, I might spend much less but I will need a decent phono stage, since I don’t currently have one.

Wow, you guys are giving some awesome advice and I thank you. I know analog guys are out there and the luv of vinyl is strong. Younger generations are getting into albums for a reason and I think that helps keep HiFi alive. Some others have mentioned Technics and VPI, anyone out there with experience with those two brands?

Effischer. Thanks man, you always have great TT advice. And of course, thanks to others here as well who have much, much more knowledge than me. I am looking into VPI, Technics, SOTA, Fluance and even will check out getting the old Dual fixed up. Also will look into the proper phono stage and getting a good cartridge.

I decided to take some advice here and I took the Dual 1219 in for repair locally. I will see what can be done with it and save all the money in buying another quality new table at a much higher price. Not sure if I will like the record playing hobby, now that I have become more digital.  Again, thanks again for all the recommendations.