Trying to get back into Lps, I seem to be throwing

First of all thanks to everyone who has responded to my distress call. Actually I'm a vinyl junkie from the late 60s thru most of the 70s. That's when you could go to practically any stereo shop and pick up a very rewarding system for not near the prices of today. Rushton your answers are spot on especially the alignment of the cartridge. I have aligned several cartridges in the past and I am very confident that the Blackbird is aligned properly via alignment and balance tools. The Burn in time on the cartridge is approximetly 20 Lps. The sound quality of the Lps seems to have not near the bass I enjoy with cds, the upper end seems to be a little thin and bright for my taste as well. A friend of mine suggests getting a better phono preamp but I am hesitant in doing so for fear of getting the wrong one, there are so many phono preamps to choose from. Also I was wondering why I have to crank the volume knob much more when I play Lps compared to when I play cds?

Thanks every one for all the great info. I will just have to wait untill the cartridge reaches the 50+ hr mark and see if that does the trick, along with fine tuning the angle of the dangle.

Larkyparka, the only reason I am asking for help in this forum is to find solutions that will produce the best possible sound from my existing equiptment and to purchase if necessary, the only things that will allow me to reach that goal. It's a lot cheaper to get good advice from the knowledgable people in this forum then simply buy what I think will work. After all I have been away from vinyl for more than 20 years now and with 600+ Lps that haven't seen a turntable in that time span, things have changed. In the past I would audition stereo components before I purchased them, unfourtionetly there are no high end audio stores in my location.

Eldartford, that was definitely the way I was thinking. any suggestions on a product that would be a good match for my system?