Used or new?
For new, rega P3 may fit your budget.
For used, P5/P7 may fall into the price range.
As somebody said, Thorens 14x/16x would be a good choice to start with at under $400. I am still yet to notice a significant difference between my TD145MKii with Grado Gold and Clearaudio bluemotion with classics cartridge.
Now, Clearaudio emotion can be purchased at $999.99 with cartridge at elusivedisc dot com, probably a best choice at under $1000.
For new, rega P3 may fit your budget.
For used, P5/P7 may fall into the price range.
As somebody said, Thorens 14x/16x would be a good choice to start with at under $400. I am still yet to notice a significant difference between my TD145MKii with Grado Gold and Clearaudio bluemotion with classics cartridge.
Now, Clearaudio emotion can be purchased at $999.99 with cartridge at elusivedisc dot com, probably a best choice at under $1000.