converting an LP to digital

I recently fed my cassette audio into my Mac Mini and converted the analog to Apple Lossless files. Sounds pretty good for coming from an old cassette.

I would like to do the same with some LPs but I'm looking for a better analog to digital converter. I know the Alesis 9600 gets mentioned a lot, but if I use my computer for storage and burning I really don't need the hard drive and transport that it comes with, so I was thinking I could get something as good or better for less money. Maybe not as I see new ones are selling for $800.

I looked in the archives and didn't find much. Maybe I searched on the wrong terms?