analog newbie questions...

Alright, this shores up the question @ hand. Specifically this site and another one has members with constructive knowledge that can save a person a lot of $ starting out.
A few personal insights or opinions. If you can afford to pay cash for a new car and sell it next year for half of what you paid for it, buy all new audio gear. If not, gently used is the way to go. You get alot more for your money. Pattern your system around your musical tastes. In your case, speakers will determine that.
The turntable is your biggest hurdle. Not done right, your wasting your time. IMHO the cartridge, tonearm and pre are the most important. If the TT holds speed, belt drive vs. direct drive, not that important at this pricepoint. The usual suspects: P2/P3, MMF5 & SL 1200. The technics SL 1200 is riding a resurgence with it's durability and up-grade path.
I'll let others chime in on the amp and speakers, so many to choose from.
Speaker cable (sheilded) can be purchased from a home improvement store. 14ga. is about .75 cent a foot. Decent used interconnects $30, maybe less.
My current system is just a little more than your budget and I feel satified with the performance. Having my turntable set-up correctly, speaker placement & component isolation made a significant inprovement.
I will drop some more names if you don't get enough responses. Goodluck, David-

Here's some good advice.........Talk to the guys at Audio Advisor (I am NOT connected with them, but have been a satisfied customer in the past) and give them your budget and desires. They can "package" a really nice entry-level system for you for under $1500, and they'll let you try it out at home for thirty days.

For example.....Rega P1 w/ Ortofon OM5e ($395), Marantz PM-5003 (a really nice integrated amp with a good built-in MM phono stage, $449), PSB Image B15 speakers ($379), and an 8 ft. pair of AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cables ($109). A system like this ($1332 total) should give you a wonderful taste of what our hobby is all about, and should enable you to really enjoy listening to LP's with a big smile on your face. The guys at Music Direct should also be able to put together a similar system, so you may want to speak with them too. They sell the same table and amp, but with a different variety of "~$400" speakers. Figure on another $100 - $150 for speaker stands.

There'll be a ton of "audiophiles" out there who will tell you to spend more $$$ for better stuff, and they're right. More $$$ will buy better stuff, but within the constraints of your $1500 total budget, a good "analog starter system" like I'm describing will be a great way to get into our wonderful hobby. Then, don't worry, as soon as the "upgrade itch" hits you, you'll start the never-ending trek that we're all on now. Good Luck, and let us know how things turn out. Happy Listening !!

Since I brought up the 640p: I like Ortofons but have others that I prefer more, Goldring 1012gx or 1042gx and a Shure M97 for lower priced cartridges.
Interconnects: Under 1M can cause set-up issues sometimes.
I was always told to try to spend an even amount on each piece of gear, TT, Amp, Speakers, phono pre should be less.
Buy a used integrated with the assumption that you will upgrade eventually. Stick with newer stuff to avoid problems.
Speaker Cable: Don't buy garbage, at least 12 gauge. Get decent banana connectors. Even Madisound & Partsconnexion have some very inexpensive bananas. Avoid the twist on types.
Finally, some dealers get amazing prices on close-outs and B-stock. They are an option. AudioAdvisor was suggested and can be great. I like Spearit-sound and Echohifi also.

This is all great stuff! Thanks everyone! One question, with the marantz pm-5003 int amp, would I still need to purchase a phono pre amp, even though the int amp has a phono stage included?

Nope. Phono pre-amp = phono stage.