Surprised at how turntable sounds

It sounds like you have walked to edge of the analog cliff and are about to take the plunge into the abyss.  My advice is don’t jump.

  What you are noticing is the emperor has no clothes phenomenon.  The analog lovers make all sorts of claims about the so called warmth and lushness of analog. As you can tell from my sarcastic tone I am not a believer and I much prefer digital on the whole.  I maintain an analog system because I have a small number of LPs from back in the day where I think the digital masters are audibly inferior to the original analog.

  Now to be fair as you ascend the price ladder in analog the improvements become noticeable.  I haven’t priced your analog equipment but I suspect it’s at entry level.  However I urge against going into the stratosphere to seek the sonic grail.

  Now having said that the most obvious weak link in your setup is the included phono preamp in your tt.  Those are for convenience but a dedicated phono pre amp will be a major upgrade.  Unfortunately there are a lot of really bad phono prees in the budget range, and imo you need to budget about $500 minimum.  Other posters that are more knowledgeable might be able to offer quality recommendations at a lower price point and I would defer to them.  

  If lushness is the goal then get a tubed phono preamp.
 

And if adding a decent tubed phono pre doesn’t get you there, I would jump off the analog merry go round 

I'm going to end up with a Crutchfield credit balance that's enough to make buying from them preferable if they have something that will work well.  They carry:

Audio-Technica

Denon

JBL

Mobile Fidelity

Music Hall

NAD

Pro-Ject

Sony

TEAC

Technics

Victrola

Yamaha

I'm hoping to find something that will give sound quality fitting in with the rest of the stuff I've got.

Will I be able to find something for around 1K?

I don't want bluetooth.

It would be nice if a built-in preamp won't be a big downside.  I wonder about that though.

I don't want a fully automatic because I'm assuming that's referring to the old record grinders I remember from back in the day.  Or am I mistaken?

I do like the being able to just press a button to start playing a record.

A preamp built into a turntable is a big downside right there; those are made for convenience, not sound. For about $1K, you should be able to get a relatively inexpensive turntable with a relatively inexpensive cartridge and a relatively inexpensive separate phono preamp that should sound way better than what you've got. Many of those brands you've got listed have entry-level models you should look into, though I'd stick with brands that concentrate more on TT's, like AT, Denon, MoFi, Music Hall, Pro-ject, and Technics. 

Are you set on buying from Crutchfield?

If not, and you want new, for your budget I’d look to a Fluance RT85N with a Nagaoka stylus for $549. Free shipping and returns I believe. Pair that with a Schiit Skoll phono preamp for $399 and you’ll still have a couple bucks left over. And yes, a built in pre is a downside. This ought to be a big improvement over what you had.

Oops! @larsman beat me to it!

Hoping cheap is not cheap, is that the 2nd definition of insane? Hoping cheap is not cheap ’over and over again’, expecting different results, being the 1st.

1. yes, the cartridge is the major problem, it’s a bargain basement design with a conical stylus. 

2. the built-in phono equalizer is suspect. I have never heard it, the point being: even with a new excellent sounding cartridge, it might sound good, but if the equalizer sounds bad, .... a sandwich with something you love combined with something you don’t like will always taste ....

Only by listening, i.e.

I had an Audio Technica AT120 TT and I actually preferred the sound of it’s dinky built-in phono equalizer to the one in my McIntosh C28 Preamplifier.

For my office system, I bought 3 highly recommended mid-price phono stages: sent them all back, preferred this ’cheap’ Pyle unit. Several people have borrowed it while shopping for a replacement, all were surprised by how good it sounds. Later, when you get something ’real’, it’s good to have to keep listening if something happens.

https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Phono-Turntable-Preamp-Preamplifier/dp/B00025742A/ref=sr_1_3?sr=8-3

I would not invest anything in that TT, return it to Crutchfield or wherever if you can, or sell it asap.

For a ’starter’ TT, to decide if someone will stick with Vinyl, I often recommend Audio Technica Direct Drive (quartz locked), removable headshell, pre-mounted MM cartridge with upgradable stylus shape:

current version is AT-LP120X (arm height not adjustable) (not critical, some prefer fixed height, I prefer adjustable height)

prior version is AT-LP120 (no X) (arm height adjustable)

there’s a 3rd version with Bluetooth.

Upgrade the AT-VM95 cartridge's stylus to the ML microline shape, (no mounting or aligning a cartridge body is needed),

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/cartridges/line-series/at-vm95-series

It is ’good enough’ to enjoy your existing LPs and after a while, you may move up.

caution: I just saw an ad for a nearly new AT-LP120 that implies the earlier one with arm height adjustment, but viewing the photos the seller had omitted the X by error.

btw, I’m hoping the cheap ’memory foam’ mattress topper I just ordered for our guest room is ’good enough’.