due to your correct comments about the difficulty in trying to match a cartridge to your system, i'd suggest (for those of us on a budget!) trying to get as much info as possible, from reviews, a-gon, comments/listening to friends' systems, etc. then, set yer budget, & try to find the best, most expensive pre-owned/demo cartridge ewe can, that made it to yer short-list of what ya may tink will work in yer system. while it may not ultimately be the best cartride for yer system, it will surely be at least as good as anything yule be able to buy brand-gnu at its price, & it will save ya lotsa time-n-money trying to audition multiple cartridges.
meantime, i'm currently using an ortofon mc-25fl that i picked up from the needle-dr for $225 (permanently on-sale fro its $450 list price?). this replaced a blue-point i used prewiously, & i tink it's outstanding for its price. the blue-point was nuttin' to sneeze at either, imho. in fact, the ortofon is so nice, i *still* haven't gotten 'round to tryin' the vandenhul-rebuilt lyra clavis that i picked up for a song, using my prewiously-described method for getting a cartridge better-n-ewe can afford! ;~) i've heard good tings about the the lyra, & i got it, gnuly re-built, for ~80% of retail...
regards, doug s.