be wary of anyone who tells you what you "must" spend in order to get good sound. I've seen some ridiculous claims to this effect and it's just not accurate. Vinyl is a blast, I've never considered any of it work, and I have cleaned 2K+ albums with a VPI 16.5 unit. I guess I just enjoy being around music, whether it is actively listening to a record or reading the liner notes while cleaning an album. I think digital is great as well, I just don't use it when I'm "actively" (no distractions, phone down, laptop closed, etc) listening.
Also, when people say "this/that/the other brand is junk" take it with a grain of salt, it's generally because they have some weird axe to grind.