Best way to clean records

The most economical vacuum system is the Disc Doctor sold by Audio Advisor, which is made by Nitty Gritty for Audio Advisor. It requires manual turning of the record. Price for a new one at www.audioadvisor.com is about $199. Used ones on Audiogon sold anywhere from $99 to $125 depending on the condition.

I purchased an older version of a Nitty Gritty vacuum cleaner and I am very pleased with the results.

I would try the discdoctor fluid and brushes or use it with a nittygritty or vpi. it does a great job with reducing static buildup as well as getting the surface and groove grime off of the records.

I am not sure how much you plan to spend, though you say "without spending hundreds of dollars". If that means no more than a hundred, and you want to get a vacuum cleaner (and IMHO you should) you are limited to the ones mentioned or a DIY project.

If you can go a bit more, I can tell you from experience that spending another $200 on a VPI 16.5 (as opposed to $200 for the Nitty Gritty) is money MORE than well spent. The 16.5 can be found used in the neighborhood of $325-$350 if you shop around, and I consider that a bargain. Mine is the best investment I've made in analog.

Of course, you can go all the way to spending a grand on a VPI 17 (or more on other machines) which is fully automatic, and can do more LP's at one sitting, but I find the 16.5 more than sufficient. I can do about 7 LP's per sitting. Couple the 16.5 with Record Research Labs fluids and you will have a permanent answer to your record cleaning needs. I cannot speak to the longevity of the Nitty Gritty machines, but the VPI 16.5 is tank-like and will likely survive after I am gone. I paid $350 for mine used and I've cleaned about 2,000 records - or about 18 cents per record (and decreasing!).

For a buck no quiestion, VPI.
You can also shop at kabusa.com to find the record cleaner adapter to your home vacume cleaner as well that can save you some but not as much as you can buy used VPI 16.5.