getting back into vinyl

the marantz(clearaudio)table should sound great. i would believe its the system....is it an sme20? no...but its not a world apart either.

Is it the table, arm, cartridge or phono section that is most noticeable to you?

The answer to your question is yes. They all make a difference. Sorry, no easy solution so you need to spread your budget and chose each component wisely. I think this holds true no matter if your budget is $2K or $20K.

Thinking of the cartridge/phonostage match first is a good idea because that synergy will probably have the most impact on the sound potential. Your choice of a cartridge will help narrow down what tonearms would work best. Then you'll have a good idea of what tables you can use. This is just a general suggestion of a possible selection process, but I think it will give you an example of one way to proceed. Still, it can be an iterative process.

IMO, if you want to budget a little less in any one area to start it should be the cartridge.

To clarify on some points raised. My budget isn't $20k though I don't know what it really is. (I'm sure my wife does, but I haven't asked yet...!). Besides being above budget, SME/ARC playback would shoot well above the rest of my current system - though I'm slowly in the process of upgrading there too. I currently have Parasound Halo components and may upgrade the preamp. Amp may be okay. Speakers are Audiopro. No one here will likely be familiar with them - but I anticipate (hope) to get SF Cremonas someday. Cabling is fine but nothing special.
I live in WI where there are too few dealers of anything. I was traveling to Milw had 2 hours of time and walked into a dealer w/ records in hand and basically asked him to show me the superiority of analog. I guess I got what I asked for and can't blame the dealer for demoing the SME/ARC rig. That said, he only had one other table set up in the store (a Project something) but the other items to which it was hooked up were limiting.
So, I know I can't get to what I heard w/in my budget and given the constraints of my current system. My hope was that I could get mostly there w/ judicious selection of parts. The Marantz I've heard in 2 other stores but I didn't have my records and their demos left a lot to be desired. One store was running through an outboard phono preamp and there was a grounding problem. I listened to scratchy records with an undercurrent of buzz. This, BTW, is a dealer who sells some decent HT gear (Classe and B&W) but they clearly just have some analog because they're also a Marantz dealer. I'm sure it'd be much better if I brought it home for a demo - on my list of things to do. I also listened to the Marantz at another dealer in Madison - along side the new McIntosh table w/ running through Mac electronics and the huge Mac speakers (never my cup of tea). Get this - it was in a room with huge pillars in the middle and gear stacked in front of where I would be sitting to listen - if they had chairs in which to sit. Needless to say, it was a comically bad demo (again scratchy records). I could hear differences between the Mac table and Marantz table, but I attributed it all to the cartridge because the primary difference was the presence of surface noise. Everything else was masked.
So, this perhaps explains why I'm intrigued - I've heard one demo where I felt like spending money, and two where I walked away shaking my head that the stores sell any gear whatsoever.
This group is going to be able to help me much more than my experiences so I'm very much appreciating the feedback.
Best,

Unfortunately, your original demo has set you up for disappointment at your budget, undefined as it is. There is no question that the table and arm make a huge difference. You will typically hear some variation on this priority: table, arm, phono stage, cartridge. If budgeting over time is helpful, I always recommend stretching for the best table/arm you can get and skimping on the preamp and cartridge with the assumption of upgrading, in that order, as budget allows, making sure that the preamp you upgrade to will accommodate the cart you have your eye on. Agreed that going used will obviously save on resale loss.

BTW, I think you get a lot of argument that the Marantz is not "a world apart" from the SME 20.

You have to establish a budget before anybody here or anywhere else can realistically help you.
Having said that,you can find some really good deals here on Agon, if you don't mind buying used. However,for you to get close to what you heard at the dealer you're going to have to spend at least $5k(that's for TT,phono-pre, cart)
and that's buying used!
Take a look at my system, I have all ARC gear and am getting very good vinyl playback!