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Spotify and Apple Music may be the main source of jams in the smartphone era, but the pleasures of physical media—CDs, cassettes, and yeah, vinyl records—have regained their cool. Vinyl in particular. The best record players and turntables sit at the centerpiece of the LP experience.
For Francis Harris, co-founder and musical director of Public Records in Brooklyn, New York, loving vinyl is less about sound quality (Harris champions CD as a “superior format") than it is about a “greater appreciation of the art form and the labor that goes into making a record.” A CD player is all buttons and lasers and janky plastic jewel cases. Vinyl? It's got life.
Playing vinyl “adds an alternate tactile experience to your listening,” says Peter Hahn, owner and founder of Turntable Lab in Brooklyn, New York. It's tangible. It's moving parts. It's physical. You're sliding fragile pieces of magnetic creativity out of artful sleeves, moving tonearms and flicking switches, hearing honest imperfections. Hahn loves how getting into vinyl opens folks up to a “huge, consuming hobby,” like finding favorite record stores, getting geeky about gear, and building out a record collection.
Whether you inherited some vinyl or you're on a first-name basis with the local record store clerks, we've turned up the right turntables to get your records playing right.
The Best Record Players, at a Glance
The party won't start itself, so make sure you have the proper gear to spin those funky records.
- The Best Turntable, Overall: Fluance RT81, $250
- The Best Budget Turntable: AudioTechnica AT-LP60X, $149
- The Best Upgrade Turntable: Technics SL-1500C, $1,300
- The Best Midrange Turntable: Rega Planar 1, $595
- The Best Turntable for Aspiring Audiophiles: Music Hall MMF 1.5.ttl, $399
- The Best-Looking Turntable: Pro-Ject T1 Phone SB, $449
- The Best Turntable That Comes in Flashy Colors: U-Turn Audio Orbit Plus, $399
- The Best Turntable for Sonos Lovers: Victrola Stream Onyx, $600
- The Best All-in-One Turntable: Victrola Brighton, $100
The difference between a record player and a turntable
If you came here looking for record players, we have news for you: you'll only find one, and we included it begrudgingly. Technically, “record players” are all-in-one systems that tend to look like briefcases and have built-in speakers. The sound is bad, and a lot of them may actually screw up your records. They're fine if space is truly at a premium, or you want the simplest possible setup. But really, if you're into vinyl, you want a turntable.
Turntables allow you to get the best audio possible, ensuring that your LPs don't sound like a mewling, distorted cat. And that—along with the unsubtle flex of having record sleeves prominently featured in your living room—is why you got into vinyl in the first place.
Just to get you up to speed on turntable jargon, here's a quick cheat sheet. There's the platter (what your record sits on), the cartridged (the electromechanical doohickey housing the stylus, which rides along a record's grooves and translates them to signals), and the tonearm (the part that holds the cartridge, and swivels over onto the record…like an arm).
Turntables can't play music by themselves. In general, you'll need a phono pre-amplifier—though not always, more on that later—and speakers to get the jams from the vinyl into your ears.
What to look for in a turntable
There's a whole language of niche terms to learn when you're scratching the surface of turntable lore, but here are the very basics to know before diving in.
Built-in preamp: A phono preamp boosts the un-amplified signal coming from the stylus into one that's powerful enough to be pushed out of speakers. Without one, you'll hear only the faintest whisper of music. A preamp isn't usually that expensive, but some turntables have built-in pre-amps to simplify things. "It's more about convenience and not having to mess around with an additional set of wires and power supply,” Hahn says. (We picked out a solid, inexpensive preamp, too—it's down at the bottom.)
Automatic versus manual: On some turntables, you've got to move the tonearm onto the record to start the music, then pull it off when the record's done (unless you're okay with wasting power, wearing down the needle, and listening to the eerie white noise of an endlessly spinning LP). Doing it gently can take a little practice, but it's not that hard. Automatic turntables move the tonearm for you, both at the start and the end. "If you want to listen to records and chill out, having an auto-stop function is great," Hahn says.
Belt drive versus direct drive: A turntable will either feature a belt drive, in which a literal belt connects the platter to the motor so that as the motor runs, it moves the platter around. Belt drives will wear down over (a long, long) time, though they reduce vibrations—the enemy of getting clean sound from vinyl—and produce excellent sound quality. Direct drives skip the belt, with the motor geared directly to the platter. Direct-drive turntables get up to speed faster than belt-drive turntables and they're what DJs use. They're also usually on the pricier side of turntables.
Guided by experts, we tuned in to hear about the very best record players and turntables for spinning all of your favorite LPs like a bona fide pro.
The Best Turntable, Overall: Fluance RT81
While in the audio home theater speakers game for a couple decades, Canada-based Fluance didn't start making turntables until recently. Its RT81 is one of the brand's best in terms of value, with California Chaney, a DJ and travel editor, calling it a “great starter turntable with impressive sound for its price point.” The RT81 also comes equipped with AudioTechnica's AT95E cartridge, which boasts impressive sound quality so your favorite Cream record doesn't sound terribly tinny.
The rubber mat is an upgrade from the RT80's felt mat, though they both have a built-in preamp. It's a manual turntable, so you'll have to get used to dropping the needle on your own, but it does offer an auto-stop function at least. “I love the sleek knob that easily changes the RPM and speed of the record, so you can switch between them easily," Chaney says. The turntable boasts a sleek-as-hell design, which is available in three finishes: piano black, piano white, and walnut.
(Just FYI: you'll need a preamp. We've got one down at the bottom.)
The Best Budget Turntable: AudioTechnica AT-LP60X
From college radio booths and beyond, the AudioTechnica brand is a perennial favorite of audiophiles. “This is the industry standard starter turntable,” Hahn says, calling it a “solid value." If you're trying to get into turntables, $149 is probably the least you'll want to spend, and it's not so expensive that you have to commit to it if you suddenly fall out of love with vinyl. Hahn is a fan of this beginner model because it has a built-in preamp, automatic play feature, and small footprint for squeezing onto a media shelf.
This specific model does not have a Bluetooth connection for syncing your music up to your speakers remotely, but the sister model AudioTechnica AT-LP60XBT does for slightly more money. Another downside: The diamond stylus is replaceable, but the cartridge is not, which means if you want to upgrade your turntable down the line, you'll have to spring for a totally new unit rather than upgrading specific components.
The Best Upgrade Turntable: Technics SL-1500C
Public Records uses various iterations of the Technics SL-1200 turntable, Harris says, because “to date, no other producer of turntables tops Technics' stability and pitch control.”
Hahn agrees with the Technics praise, but calls the Technics SL-1500C model the best upgrade turntable as it's essentially the “hi-fi sibling" to the SL-1200 line, which for decades has been industry standard for DJs and record producers. The SL-1500C has a similar direct-drive motor as the SL-1200s, but takes things much further in terms of construction and custom-machined parts, which have less to do with getting the best sound but making sure the build quality is superb.
The high-end turntable has an auto-stop function, and the brand actually implemented that feature into the base of the tonearm, which Technics says “eliminates impacts to the tonearm." If there is anything not-so-superb about this model, it's the 2M Red Cartridge, which Hahn calls “basic” for a model of this price point. The fix? The $189 2M Blue cartridge for even better sound quality.
The Best Midrange Turntable: Rega Planar 1
Since the '70s, UK-based brand Rega has been producing some of the world’s best hi-fi products. The Rega Planar 3 is especially raved-about, but it’s also much, much more expensive than this more mid-tier Planar 1 model, which offers comparable sound quality. Chaney calls the entire brand's range of turntables “unbeatable in their precision to play a record faithfully and with the most accurate sound." And while some shoddier turntables might amplify a turntable's “retro, scratchy warmth,” Chaney says the Planar 1 is primed to retain a record's original quality because of its weight, preset force, and low-vibration motor.
The Best Turntable for Aspiring Audiophiles: Music Hall MMF 1.5.ttl
According to Hahn, the folks at Turntable Lab liked Music Hall's original MMF 1.5 turntable so much, they asked the brand to make one exclusively for them. “We picked this model because at this price point, it's rare to get all the features we look for: a real wood body, a high-quality S-shaped tonearm, and the Ortofon Silver cartridge, which retails for over $100 on its own,” he says. That S-shaped tonearm is great because it has anti-skate adjustment, so it doesn't drift (or “skate”) to the center of the record. It plays three speeds—33⅓ rpm, 45 rpm, and 78 rpm—which are easily controlled by a knob, and for the price point is a well-designed turntable with the sound quality to match if you're upgrading from a basic AudioTechnica.
The Best-Looking Turntable: Pro-Ject T1 Phone SB
Chaney calls this turntable “the most futuristic of the bunch,” and it's not just because of its sleek, streamlined appearance. The turntable is completely devoid of plastic for an environmentally friendly bed, and made even more striking thanks to its glass platter and wooden plinth elements. Most shoppers look to Pro-Ject's turntables for its looks, but it also has the sound quality to back up the beauty. The minimalist T1 Phono SB isn't the brand's most advanced turntable, but it is one of its best entry-level turntables, since it has a built-in preamp and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless compatibility.
The Best Turntable That Comes in Flashy Colors: U-Turn Audio Orbit Plus
Another attractive option, the U-Turn Audio Orbit Plus has a built-in preamp, which Chaney reminds us is “great for a beginner to drop a record and immediately enjoy great sound.” However, if you already have a preamp, you can opt out of getting one built-in and save $70. The turntable comes equipped with an OA2 gimbal tonearm and a Ortofon OM5E cartridge, which offer precision tracking and high-quality sound, plus an acrylic platter for more detailed playback. This turntable has the most splashy color options—so it's an excellent alternative to those lesser-quality record players we were saying to avoid—"but the quality and sound precision has all the features you want of a new turntable," Chaney explains. In this price range and easily accessible at places like Target, the Audio Orbit Plus is certainly a worthwhile buy.
The Best Turntable for Sonos Lovers: Victrola Stream Onyx
Here in 2020-whatever, it's entirely possible—probable, even—that your home audio system is wireless. Because why run speaker wire if you don't have to? If you're already a card-carrying member of the Sonos brigade, Victrola's Stream Onyx turntable is the simplest answer. Because this turntable is verified by the "Works with Sonos" program, you're guaranteed seamless connectivity with your Sonos speakers. And unlike other turntables that claim to work with Sonos, this one doesn't need an intermediary speaker or piece of hardware.
Though just to be clear: the Victrola Stream Onyx's wireless connectivity only works with Sonos. It won't play nice with Bluetooth speakers, though there are RCA ports for a wired connection if you already have a strapping speaker setup. While $600 is a bit pricey, we've noticed that the Stream Onyx regularly goes on sale—and even at retail, it's cheaper than the bundled speaker-and-turntable setup that Sonos sells.
The Best All-in-One Record Player: Victrola Brighton
We've done everything we can to help you see the light on the turntable-vs-record-player divide, but we know some of you just want the easiest vinyl set-up possible, whether because you're not sure about your dedication to vinyl yet, or you're working with limited space. All of Victrola's briefcase-style record players have built-in speakers, so you can drop a record, spin it, and listen to it right away.
Of the models we've seen, the Brighton offers maybe the best built-in speakers—though keep your expectations lukewarm, they're still not hi-fi, by any means. We're more enthusiastic about the connectivity options: you can link the Brighton to a Bluetooth speaker, plug headphones directly into it, or use the RCA ports to wire it into an existing sound system. For $100, it's a fine enough vinyl starter kit or dorm room solution (but we'd still choose a turntable-based system if you want to enjoy your LPs properly).
The Best Phono PreAmp for Under $100
If your turntable doesn't have a built-in pre-amp, you're gonna need one. Here's the one you should get. It's inexpensive, does the job well, and comes from respected brand Pro-Ject, which makes the T1 turntable we picked as the prettiest of the bunch.
