Trying to get in to vinyl, turntable suggestions?

Forget about Dave Mathews and vinyl, There are only a couple of 45's available at a premium. Plenty of the other 3 though.

With no experience, the Technics is a home run. Very easy to set up and use and a great resale if you want to get out from under. It also has a great upgrade path if you want to stay aboard. A table and $100- cart for around $500-

In my limited experience I have used the Rega P-1 and P-2, the Music Hall 2.1 and currently a VPI HW/Audioquest PT-9 and had the most fun with the Technics. What I have found is that the Technics holds the platter speed better than the others and nothing will make a record sound off more than the rpm's being off. The other belt drive tables sound good with slower jazz and orchestral music, deeper soundstage, more dynamic even, but put on a piece of complicated music and I can hear the stylus drag and the speed warble. Nothing sounds worse to me. If you were in the $1500- range and could get a speed control that handled these problems i would agree with Learsfool, the belt drive are wonderful, but at this price point those tables seem out of pitch and to warble constantly, a problem you will never have with Technics DD. This is just my own experience with these tables and others with far more experience than I will find the entry level belt drive to be superior.

There is plenty of vinyl around and I think you have a good idea about what you are getting into. You will find a few sources for used and new here on agon or on e-bay and you will be upgrading your system regularly, just like we all do.

If it's not addictive, expensive and all consuming, what fun is it?

Also, any thoughts on the VPI 19 MK2 that Mred mentions?

What kind of arm and/or cartridge come with it?

I currently have that table up and running with a Audioquest PT-9 arm and Goldring 1042 cartridge. (about $1k for the arm/cart combp) and I am having a good time with it. I did have a problem with the belt slipping and stylus drag making a mess of things when I first got the table. A new belt and some fooling around with the height of the plinth to base has things pretty well under control. These tables come in 2 parts, the base which houses the motor and the plinth which holds the platter, a plastic/rubber belt goes from the top of the motor around the platter. There is no adjusting the speed of this set-up so your motor better be right on or everything else is for not, this presents the biggest challenge for this table imo. If I decide to keep this I am going to have to invest about $1k in a VPI SDS speed control which dial these motors in perfectly. I sold a tricked out KAB Technics table about 4 months ago to try this belt drive out. I really loved the Technics but thought that I would try something different. What I have found is that the VPI sounds great when everything is working perfectly and the speed is correct but on a complicated piece of music, where the grooves of the record are creating more drag on the stylus, I hear the change in pitch, and it drives me crazy, that;s all I hear instead of the music. I never had that problem with the Technics. Would I trade my VPI for a Technics, I am not sure at this point. The VPI can be great on some albums, some I can't even listen to. The Technics is very good with all of my albums. I am glad that I had the Technics first as it is a much easier table to use, more straight forward, less fiddling around out of the box.
If you decide on the Technics stay away from used tables from ebay, dj tables get beat to shit with ashes, coke (both kinds) and a general rough life for a sensitive piece of equipment. Start with new or from someone established here on Agon

Good luck and have some fun with it but remember it's all about listening to music.