Advice for a new analog system

One point everyone seems to forget-  do you have a stable place to put it?  It’s very annoying to have a Tt that flies off the rails if you look at it the wrong way. I suggest placing half a glass of water in the place(s) you’re thinking of putting it and walk around the room normally. If the water shakes a lot, find another place. 

@jasonbourne52 - I don’t think it’s a waste of money if you’re an experienced analog person. But I recommend a newbie start simpler. 
 

A single investment for life. Nice thought and I do agree that the cheapest way is to buy once. That said, if you’ve never spun vinyl before, I would go a simpler route, just to see if you really wanted to stay with it. Say, a $4k Technics direct drive with some decent cart for about $1k and maybe a nice Parasound preamp for $2k I think. Add a decent pair of cables for $500 and you’ll have a very nice rig you can play with for a year or 2 or more and probably sell quite easily if you get tired of it or want to upgrade later. That’s what I would suggest anyway. You can even go a little cheaper, but you seem to be more interested in the higher-priced range. Good luck. Just a final point, whatever you decide, I would seriously recommend buying from a local dealer who can set everything up for you and assist you with any issues that will absolutely arise along the way.