What turntable to start out with ? Pioneer PLX-1000 or VPI Nomad

These are really two different TT's.   The VPI has a built-in phono stage and headphone amp, so in this regard it is far more portable but designed for a single user.  It does have the capability though of beiong installed into a system using another amp & speakers so everyone can hear it.

The Pioneer, while having DJ roots, does not have a built-in phono stage so it must be installed into a system for anyone to hear it.

So do you already have a phono stage and system to allow the Pioneer to operate.  Or do you require the "all in one" flexibility the VPI offers?

Pioneer PLX-1000: $699 including tonearm $$$
To those who deny the musicality of direct-drive platters and the servos they rode in on, HR said: Bunk. And he added: "Forget analog vs digital or tubes vs solid-state; the most pervasive and poorly considered belief of all is that only belt-drive turntables are worthy of audiophile consideration." From there HR praised the successor to the popular but discontinued Technics SL-1200MK2: the Pioneer PLX-1000 direct-drive turntable with integrated tonearm. "Belts can't touch the PLX-1000's excitement, naturally formed detail, and clearly expressed forward momentum," HR wrote. "This new Pioneer also showcases the complex tonal character and elegant structures of classical music better than any affordable belt-drive I've experienced." As HR heard it, the PLX-1000, whose motor exhibits more than twice the torque of its famous forebear, "is not only a worthy successor to the legendary Technics SL-1200MK2, it is a serious contender for the best audiophile-grade turntable for less than $2000. Unabashedly recommended." Borderline Class B, he dares to suggest. (Vol.38 No.3 WWW)