Advice for novice needed on turntable

Keep it simple.
Consider the Technics SL1200.. etc (whatever the current model is now) 

This guy makes custom tables, check out his gallery page.

http://www.jwmacoustics.com/index-1#/karen

Unfortunately the taste is so different between any of us. Something that is cool for one of us is ugly for another. But when you're buying brand new $4k Technics SL1200G you can be sure about quality and with your budget you can even swap the stock arm for something like '9 inch Reed or others. 

Technics has the most powerful motor in the world, nothing can beat it. 
It's been proved since the '70s. Even the earlier SP-10mkII which you can find under $2k (for a drive only) is superior to almost everything mentioned above.  I have experimented with many tonearms on my ex SP-10mkII ("12 inch Schick, "12 inch Reed, "10.5 inch EPA-100 ... ). So you can buy what you like (arm, plinth). It's great! 

Unfortunately many of these suggestions are above my price range but the mag-lev table is an incredible party trick. That one is so far out there I wonder how it sounds. The front runner so far is the ja michell gyro se, due to price eliminating many of the others

I’m looking at all of these suggestions, some were real surprises

Put a Triplaner on an Oracle Delphi with a Lyra Delos, looks and performance 

If you can wait for one to pop up, Townshend Rock 7.

Get a long standing domestic manufacturer like VPI. Get their basic model with a low end cartridge. They have many upgrades including tonearms ,plus you can upgrade the cartridge as finances allow. I wish I had got a decent turntable and upgraded that route but I had to have a $500 cartridge on a $500 TT. Later when I had got a nice setup 5k plus my 2k cartridge failed and in a pinch I bought a BOTL $35 Audio technica cartridge. I was floored when it touched down. The lions share of performance was there. I realized I should have listened 35 years ago and bought a good TT first. Years ago an advisor to POTUS said about winning the next election, " its the economy stupid" .In this case I wish the salesman  had beat it in my brain "Its the Turntable stupid" LOL

JA Michell Gyro SE.

If you want bling look at Transrotor or Clearaudio, for examples. The Technics may not be sexy enough. Or take a look at custom models from Artisan Fidelity based on the Garrard 301. I prefer direct drive so if the Technics is in fact too tame think about Brinkmann Bardo. You have many options at that price point.

A little over your budget new, but you might be able to find a used or demo Clearaudio Innovation at your budget. That's a looker.

"I’m not pursuing ultimate sound quality with this device, I want it to look amazing to entice people to listen to it. I want it to have that visual “wow factor” that some turntables have but I don’t want to spend more than 8k, all in. Any suggestions please."


Here ya go!
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/turntables

$8k is already a "wow"

Buy new Technics model, the one you like the most, it can be something like $1700 - 4000 and the rest is for a mat, clamp, phono stage and a cartridge. The SL1200GR or higher model SL1200G are both superb Direct Drive, both made in Japan. With the "G" you’re buyin’ killer coreless Direct Drive system and it will serve you for the next 25 years easily without service. It can be the last stop, really.   

For the ultimate "wow-factor," sound quality not being a priority, I think the Mag-Lev table is the one to beat - doesn’t get more visually impressive than that.

What's your suggested expenditure?
Many good turntables budget from $150-400