In my opinion, a good TT setup will sound better than a very good SACD player. I have a nice SACD player that I used to use in my listening room and after a while, I moved it to my home theater room. I purchase a couple of LP's each week for around $3.50 from one of the many used cd stores in town. The albums are usually older material, but that is what most SACD's are also. If it were me, I would get a very nice cd player/transport/dac you can afford and then go out and purchase a decent TT setup with the rest of the money to see if you like using albums. A nice start would be a Music Hall model 5 or model 7 setup. You can get a Creek phono amp for a couple hundred dollars that would be compatible with the Music Hall TT's.
Going SACD or analog?
I am at the crossroad in choosing new vs old technology. Selling my Sony redbook cdp and going with Sony 777, or investing into the hi-end turntable rig? Have few records, and several hundred of CD's. I listened SACD with Krell and Martin Logan speakers. It was great, but i liked all Linn analog set-up even more. I would have about 3k to spend, which wouldn't be much for an excellent analog set (including phono stage pre) as i am using Sony's volume control with my Plinius 100 mkII. What to do? what to do?