I see the OP’s TT listed at $299. My budget was similar to the OP. I ended up with a U-Turn Orbit Plus (around $600 total I think after the "upgrade" to the acrylic platter) it came with an Ortofon 2m Red which I plan on upgrading to the 2m Blue stylus one day. I’m happy with it since I play records only about 10% of my listening time.
I’ve seen great Fluance reviews. The main difference between the RT-83, 84, and 85 are the cartridges they come with. If your budget is low get the RT-83 and upgrade the cart when you can. It sounds like your budget for a TT and cart is in the $1000 range total.
One thing to consider is whether this is going to be your only workhorse TT and what albums you will be playing. Do you shop for used albums locally or at flea markets, yard sales and such or only play pristine "new" albums? If you do shop used, it can be pragmatic to get a TT with a removable head shell. Buy an extra head shell and put a low-end cart on it like a $99 Grado Black or a $69 Audio Technica. Use THAT one to play the used vinyl to make sure they are OK before trusting your better cart to them.
I have an ancient Technics P-Mount with a $30 AT EP-85 cart in my den I use for testing used records before trusting them to the newer U-Turn.
how much should I spend to get a better turntable than my current turntable?
You want details hah!
I bet....
CURRENT: mmf-2.2. A lemon, a complete junk in my opinion. A disaster from the start. What I can I do with it? It was delivered with missing screws, the lift arm level broke in 3 months, all I got in the name of warranty a list of things not under warranty. I don't want to criticize the brand, maybe I just got unlucky, they are otherwise great.
What should I get for the littlest investment that would work better than this wobbly, squeaky thing?