I can't really help with a good turntable as I haven't bought one in almost 30 years.

However I am thinking about buying a USB turntable and dumping my LPs to digital. Parts Express carries an Audio-Technica turntable for under $150. It also provides Line and Phono level analog outputs. The specs look OK and it gets good reviews but I don't have any first hand experience.

If I get one for Christmas I'll post an evaluation.