In my opinion price range of $500-$1000 would be entry level TT price and brand choice shouldn’t be main criteria to look at. If you really tight on your budget range, my suggestion is to concentrate on proper TT setup, arm and cart alignments. Re OL tts agreed with MC. OL is really great machines in every little detail from their bearings to perfectly designed motors. I had great experience talking about OL arms and TTs with Steve Davis from analogmatters.
Turntable question; Does Audio Technica make any good turntables?
In the $500 to $1000 range does Audio Technica make any good turntables, either belt drive or direct drive? Compared to say Pro-Ject, Fluance, Rega, Music Hall, Technics, etc.