Does anyone have a recommendation for one of these? I'm not big into electronics so I really don't have a clue. I see Wal Mart and Best Buy have some on their website (Victrola, Crosley, etc.) but I have no idea if those are considered good.

Not sure on budget either since, again, I don't have a clue on what a "good one" goes for. Also, I don't have an existing "system" to hook it up to, so the speakers it comes with will have to do for now.

TIA

I'd suggest doing some research online for the brands/models you are considering. I doubt any of these systems would be considered "good" quality because they are mostly relying on the nostalgia factor. Just mass produced Chinese units with standard lower end components.

If you are into the retro look of the all in one units, between the two it looks like the Victrola has better reviews. You can also get them for cheaper on amazon (looks like 150-180ish instead of 220 from best buy). Crosley has more modern looking units if you aren't into the retro look.

If this is something you don't want to invest a lot of money into the all in one's you are look at are probably best for you.

If you want just record player on a budget the Audio-Technica are good and go for under 150. You'll need to get speakers for them separately though.

The thing you should avoid is the cute little brief case looking record players. They actively sound bad but also lots of people say they can actually damage your records.

If you decide to go separate pieces, the Pro-Ject turntables are great.

Thanks for the responses. This was a Christmas wish list item for the wife. I did do some research and read that even the all in ones I mentioned can damage records, too. I'll probably go the piece by piece route. We don't have any of those items (record player, cd player tape deck) in the house. So, I guess I can build a system from scratch.

Thanks again.

I would consider laser disc. It's coming back.