Vinyl somehow has piqued my interest.

Fluance and U-Turn are good suggestions

@oddiofyl I know how that goes….been sleep deprived listening late as well. Enjoy!

I listen to my modest vinyl system about 50 hours a year. I have it mostly out of nostalgia as I used to sell audio in the late 70's, and feel that a stereo is incomplete without some kind of turntable. I also have a "thing" for vintage turntables and prefer an auto return function as at 70, I have been known to nod off before the side ends. To that end I'm using a refurbished/modified Philips AF 877 with a suspended chassis and a decent tonearm, for the period. I am also a tinkerer and enjoy the restoration/modification process as much as the listening.

I love my turntables and use them when I want to listen to music with intention. That is, not just background noise. Using a turntable means you'll be more involved in the process as it's something of a ritual, getting the record out of the sleeve, cleaning it, maybe using a DStat to rid you of static, lifting over the tonearm (unless it's full auto), and then repeating the whole process 4-6 songs later when you flip over the record. It takes time. But, I have 3 turntables and love them all. One is manual (AR XB), one is semi auto (HK720), and one if full auto (Dual C455). They all have great cartridges and sound great. 

But very much like buying a boat, that expense is only the beginning. Record albums have gotten ridiculously expensive and building a collection now can run into lots of money. Fortunately, there are many places to buy used records, but beware. They should be carefully inspected, and the quality does wear down over many plays. So popular records that were played over and over again will not sound as good as records not played as often. I find that many jazz/blues albums are in better shape than the more "party" albums. 

If I were buying a turntable today, I would seriously look at a high quality vintage table, say, Micro Seiki, or, if you don't mind totally manual, an AR XA or XB. If I were buying new and wanted to keep it under $500-600, I would seriously consider U-Turn. They are built in the USA and have excellent customer service and paired with an Ortofon 2m Blue or Bronze, will give you an excellent listening experience.

To all of you who enjoy turntables and vinyl, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.   Yet as a "boomer" raised on records, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, and CD's, I cannot understand the absolute world wide fascination with this.  No matter how much meticulous care I had for my records, the ticks, pops, and hiss, were all unavoidable.  CD's are so much better (obviously engineering dependent) and streaming opens up accessibility to the world of high quality music.  My "audiophile" friends of my generation all say the same thing; we "don't get it."  In all sincerity do enjoy this wonderful hobby/experience in whatever manner you choose.