I’m assuming your $1200 budget includes cartridge. I would consider it wise to get the best possible TT, and then get the best possible cartridge without going overboard. In other words, don’t put a souped-up engine in a Ford Pinto.
The suggestions for the Music Hall Classic Seem very sound (no pun intended) to me. It’s also a very visually appealing TT, if that matters to you.
You could install (and would have to learn how to optimally calibrate/align) say, an Ortofon Bronze cartridge on that bad boy, and, with tax, be around $1100. You could opt for the Ortofon Blue and be around $900.
I’m only suggesting Ortofon cartridges because they seem like good bang-for-the-buck cartridges. On an old TT, I had a low-end 2m Red which, back then, retailed for about $100. Surprisingly good cartridge.
Other posters here, I wouldn’t doubt, may have better suggestions for cartridges in, say, the $200-$500 price range.