if you can tolerate the surface noise from older records there's no reason not to at least get a thorens with a $150 cartridge. alblums are nice to hold and look at/read while you listen- unlike cd's with those horrid little booklets i rarely pull out. records provide music in bite-sized chunks unlike 75 minute cd's that never seem to come to an end. one record dealer once stated that the entire package of cover pictures, sleeve, and lp was in a sense a work of art in itself. not that i don't cherish a well-recorded cd, but the package doesn't inspire much of anything; it's just there to protect the playing surface. as for all of the accessories and machinery for playing records, it used to be affordable (a dual 1229q, a thorens td-160, an AR turntable, etc.) but while i now have a VPI ARIES, i have only a weak attraction towards getting a $10k (or more) turntable, only to play a record i bought for $3 and vacuumed once or twice.
other than mikey fremer, i haven't heard too many people with EXPENSIVE record players properly describe what is so special about the medium at that VERY high level. OTOH, i have heard alot of very high-end digital and it sounds pretty convincing to me, although it is ridiculously expensive as well (see- Esoteric separates for a rude awakening to extremism in that direction). goldmund has a nice player that costs $75k and they will engrave your name on your limited-edition copy (gee, should i get one or not??).
other than mikey fremer, i haven't heard too many people with EXPENSIVE record players properly describe what is so special about the medium at that VERY high level. OTOH, i have heard alot of very high-end digital and it sounds pretty convincing to me, although it is ridiculously expensive as well (see- Esoteric separates for a rude awakening to extremism in that direction). goldmund has a nice player that costs $75k and they will engrave your name on your limited-edition copy (gee, should i get one or not??).