Please help me figure out what I need to do this. My head spins with tech talk..

I've had a few AMR CD-777 and they are fantastic - some of the best CD players I've heard. I recommended that one because I think not only will the performance meet your expectations but so will the infusion of the tube and what it brings to the table. 

I fear without a tube in the source you might be chasing gear for a while to be content. 

I really do think tubes have to be somewhere in this chain for me..I remember when I first started out in search..I went through many solid state cdp’s that left either ho-hum or near agitation...then my Jolida JD100 had me thinking I was on the right path..then the BAT flew in and it was like puppy dog tail wags and rainbows...and a Beethoven symphony brought tears of joy..

Go with a DAC, the spinning stuff is probably what caused the 'died' as that's a mechanical contraption. Rip or get bits as source material - that's the source future anyway.

So many excellent DACs under a couple of grand. Easy to decide. Go simple and do all the sonic work in the preamp with shortest possible cables. Don't worry about tubes in the DAC, too much noise in there anyway... seriously you'll waste $$$.

Super-simple R2R vintage PHILIPs DACs still sound the best musically - if you need processing of formats, do that ahead of time in your computer.

The OP is using an integrated so in order to get tubes into a preamp stage she will need a completely new approach to what she already had.  Also, while I am a believer in streaming and do it 99% of the time, there still is a small performance difference between a streamer and a CD transport, where the transport just has more dynamics.  I've had several people confirm this and I've experienced it myself.

I can also guarantee you that besting that AMR with a transport + DAC for the same money will be an almost impossible feat.  Even streaming you have to have a good transport in front to make it work with some excellent cables in between.

audiothesis...

"Also, while I am a believer in streaming and do it 99% of the time, there still is a small performance difference between a streamer and a CD transport, where the transport just has more dynamics. I've had several people confirm this and I've experienced it myself"Are you saying that in actuality you think streaming  could be considered sonically less dynamic and therefore less musical?Is the whole advantage of going digital just relieving clutter?