"Beginner" audiophile Turntable for $200-$300?

I'm yet another "newbie" wanting to listen to my long-time stale album collection (primarily pop). I don't see myself being a tweaker, at least in the beginning - I just want a "plug & play" turntable, I suppose, for now. I just want to set it up and play my albums - but I do want the most accurate reproducibility of the information on my albums as I can get with $200-$300 (my budget, more or less).

It's the techie/perfectionist in me to make sure that I get a good deal (which means I can upgrade parts - rather than the whole thing...so that I could spread the costs across many paychecks ;-). This is how many of my other hobbies are (Ham Radio, PCs, etc.).

It would seem that if I only wanted "plug & play", and since I'm just a newbie in this, I would go with the less expensive Music Hall MMF-2.1 (which is NOT upgradeable). No one recommends the even less expensive Sony PS-LX350H (or anything from Sony) which is where I began my journey researching this topic. The MMF-2.1 seems to be THE entry-level/beginner audiophile turntable. But, based on reviews and posts, I'm worried about Music Hall's apparent lack of quality workmanship throughout; lack of a good manual (especially for a newbie that doesn't know how to properly setup a more "audiophile" like, manual turntable); and the fact that "just" another $100 (or so) would get me a much better sounding turntable (based on my research so far) that is at least somewhat upgradeable (NAD 533).

The reviews and posts on the NAD 533 are much better than for the MMF-2.1 - and I understand that the tone arm is "basically" a Rega RB-250. In deed, the entire turntable is OEM'd by Rega for NAD and is slightly different than a Rega P2. Based on reviews & posts, I also plan to upgrade to a better cartridge than the one that comes with the NAD 533 - but that's another $100! ARGGG!!!! Oh well, maybe later (I just want very good reproducibility - so I lean toward purchasing a new cartridge before I spend any effort on listening or transferring my album collection to CD - at least for in-car listening).

The VPI HW-19 Jr looks like the ultimate in upgradeability, especially in that it can be upgraded to a full-blown TNT Series 5! But, I cannot see paying $600/$650 (at the minimum, for a used one) right now.

So, I'm strongly leaning toward the NAD 533 for now!

I appreciate any suggestions/recommendations/feedback.

Thanks,

Wes