2020 Best Turntables under $500!

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Published May 28, 2025

Read our complete 2020 Best Turntables under $500 list here: http://bit.ly/2DTuH5q | Chat with us online: https://www.audioadvice.com | Call for sales and support: 888.899.8776 |

Before we get into our turntable picks, I want to first talk about why spending $300-$500 is a good minimum budget for buying a new turntable.

You’ll see record players for as little as $50, these turntables are often more for novelty purposes. They’re more like a toy or an item that looks cool on a shelf than a piece of actual audio equipment. Due to their low build-quality and cheap parts, they won’t provide the signature sound you’re looking for and may even damage your precious vinyl records. With new records going for $30+, we think it's worth investing a few hundred dollars in a great turntable to assure your vinyl collection will last for years.

Starting around $300, you can get a nice quality turntable. While the sky's the limit (we sell turntables that cost well into the thousands of dollars), $300-$500 is an excellent budget for a turntable that will produce a great sound, won’t damage your records and will last for decades.

It's also helpful to know that your sound is only as good as your source, and in this case your audio source is a turntable. You can have the world’s greatest pair of speakers, but if you’re starting with an inexpensive turntable that creates a buzz because it’s cheaply made…guess what, your expensive speakers will also play that buzz.

Our complete 2020 Best Turntables under $500 list includes:

Audio-Technica LP120XUSB - $249: https://www.audioadvice.com/audio-technica-at-lp120xusb-direct-drive-turntable.html

Pro-Ject Essential III - $349-$399: https://www.audioadvice.com/pro-ject-essential-iii-bluetooth-turntable.html

Music Hall MMF 1.3 - $299: https://www.audioadvice.com/music-hall-1-3-turntable.html

U-Turn Orbit Plus - $309 - $379: https://www.audioadvice.com/u-turn-audio-orbit-plus-turntable.html

Denon DP 300F - $379: https://www.audioadvice.com/denon-dp-300f-turntable.html

Pro-Ject T1 $329-$399: https://www.audioadvice.com/t1-turntable.html

Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC) - $399-$460: https://www.audioadvice.com/pro-ject-debut-carbon-turntable.html

U-Turn Orbit Special $479: https://www.audioadvice.com/u-turn-audio-orbit-special-turntable.html

Rega Planar 1 - $475: https://www.audioadvice.com/rega-planar-1-turntable.html

Pro-Ject RPM1 Carbon - $499: https://www.audioadvice.com/pro-ject-rpm-1-carbon-turntable.html