I am kind of surprised that no one gave the obvious advice that you should get yourself a good vacuum Record Cleaning Machine (RCM).
Given your analog equipment, it is pretty obvious that a Loricraft (the best RCM I know of), is not in your budget (@ $2,500), but a used Nitty Gritty/Record Doctor will do a very good job of cleaning records for around $100 (plus maybe another $50 in fluids and brushes).
Obviously it will not repair damaged records, so your equalizer or other methods suggested by the others would be utilized for those. (Although, wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy new or used NM records so the clicks and pops are not an issue?)
My two cents worth anyway.
PS I will also point out that certain cartridges are better at smoothing out clicks and pops than others. I was amazed when I went from the Benz Micro Glider II to the Koetsu Black, just how much quieter the background noise was.
Given your analog equipment, it is pretty obvious that a Loricraft (the best RCM I know of), is not in your budget (@ $2,500), but a used Nitty Gritty/Record Doctor will do a very good job of cleaning records for around $100 (plus maybe another $50 in fluids and brushes).
Obviously it will not repair damaged records, so your equalizer or other methods suggested by the others would be utilized for those. (Although, wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy new or used NM records so the clicks and pops are not an issue?)
My two cents worth anyway.
PS I will also point out that certain cartridges are better at smoothing out clicks and pops than others. I was amazed when I went from the Benz Micro Glider II to the Koetsu Black, just how much quieter the background noise was.