Deciding on which of the best record players will give you the optimal experience of your growing vinyl collection isn't an easy task given the sheer number of quality turntables vying for your attention. The resurgence in vinyl sales over the last decade or so has meant that audio giants including Sony, Technics, Rega and Audio-Technica have had to keep on top of their game to keep the discs spinning, with plenty of competition, particularly at the beginner and mid-range.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, 43.2 million EPs and LPs were purchased in the U.S alone in 2023, while Music Week reports that 5.9 units were sold in the UK in the same year. The Louder team has certainly been contributing to that growth with our lavish vinyl-buying habits.
If you’re considering upgrading your own turntable from a cheaper deck – or perhaps you're here to find your very first record player – you might be wondering what you get for your cash these days. And when you throw in product details such as phono preamps and Bluetooth, the process of buying a new turntable can initially seem a little bewildering.
Don’t worry though, as I've been dropping the needle and testing some of the best turntables out there and I'll explain exactly what they’re all about. Not only that, but below you’ll also find all your burning FAQs answered.
And with the annual Black Friday sales event coming on November 29, there are going to be stacks of Black Friday record player deals, and I'll be covering even more bargains and posting them on our Black Friday music deals hub.
And if you're also interested in CDs, I've got you covered with the best Black Friday CD player deals.
Out top picks
This Rega turntable is an unbelievably clean and clear performer that doesn’t impart its own character on your records. Everything you throw at it will sound just as it should – packed with detail, punch, rhythm and impeccable tonality. If you want to hear your vinyl as intended, this is how you should do it.
It looks a bit like a children's toy and is almost as cheap, but the Lenco L-85 is actually a semi-automatic, belt-driven turntable with a built-in phono stage and the ability to record via USB. It’s as plug-and-play as vinyl gets. A great starting point for anyone who's just getting into it or digging out their old records from the garage.
Here's a Bluetooth turntable that not only allows you to spin your favourite albums, but also lets you beam your wax to your favourite headphones or wireless speaker. Playback sounds great, offering a balance of dynamic space and warmth, while the mid-range price is seriously appealing.
While it doesn't sport bells and whistles like Bluetooth or a built-in phono preamp, this is the best-sounding turntable available at this sort of price. If you want to hear your just-bought or much-cherished records just as intended, the Planar 1 is how you do it.
This deck is easy to set up and has a built-in phono stage, meaning you’re ready to plug and play straight from the box. If you’re serious about getting the best from your vinyl, but don’t have a huge budget, this is a wallet-friendly record player that will last you years.
This Technics turntable is a thoroughly modern unit with direct drive, so there's no belt to mess about with. What’s most impressive is how amazing the SL-1500C sounds. Clean, organised and dynamic, it takes a digital approach that digs up all of the detail, but it’s not cold and unfeeling in the way of a hi-res music player.
Best overall
The original Planar 3 is now more than 40 years old. Yet, amazingly, if I was to put it and this current version side-by-side, I think most people would be hard-pressed to spot any differences beyond the smarter plinth and updated tonearm.
Under the skin, almost every part had been revised since the last version – the and yet the core character remains. I found this Rega turntable to be an unbelievably clean and clear performer that doesn’t impart its own character on your records. Everything you throw at it will sound just as it should – packed with detail, punch, rhythm and impeccable tonality.
You can also buy the Rega Planar 3 with added Elys 2 moving magnet cartridge, which will add a handful of cash to the purchase, but I only think the extra outlay is worth it if you're looking for absolutely top-drawer performance and crystal clear audio.
If you want to hear your vinyl as intended, this is how you should do it. In my opinion, this is the best record player around right now, bar none.
Read our full Rega Planar 3 review
Best for beginners
It looks like a children's toy, and is almost as cheap, but the Lenco L-85 is actually a semi-automatic, belt-driven turntable with a built-in phono stage and the ability to record via USB. It’s as plug-and-play as vinyl gets.
It's old school enough – it comes with a pair of RCA cables so you can plug the L-85 into your stereo amplifier and get started straight away – but it's 21st century enough too: a USB port means you can convert your vinyl into MP3 files.
I think it's a great beginner record player for anyone who's just getting into vinyl or digging out their old records from the garage.
Read our full Lenco L-85 review
Best with Bluetooth
Now for something a little different – a Bluetooth turntable that not only allows you to spin your favourite albums, but also lets you stream music through it too. This is made possible on the Pro-Ject Juke Box E Bluetooth because of RCA inputs and outputs, its own amplification and a receiver. It's a neat and versatile twist on the other turntables on our list.
In my opinion, vinyl sounds great, offering a balance of dynamic space and warmth, while the mid-range price makes this a serious contender for your next purchase. To borrow a phrase from baseball, this is a multi-tool player.
Read our full Pro-Ject Juke Box E review
Best on a budget
If you are after features such as Bluetooth and USB recording, the Rega Planar 1 isn’t going to be for you. It’s one of the only turntables in its bracket that doesn’t have a built-in phono preamp, which means you’ll need an amplifier that’s got one or will need to factor in the cost of an external unit. But I think it's worth it when the core deck is this good.
This is the best-sounding turntable available at this sort of price. If you want to hear your just-bought or much-cherished records just as intended, the Rega is how you do it.
And don’t go thinking this is a cold, complicated deck. On the contrary, I found it produced a really fun sound and is pretty straightforward to set-up. If you’re prepared to be just a bit adventurous, this is the deck to buy.
Read our full Rega Planar 1 review
Best mid-priced option
Taking some visual cues from the legendary Technics SL1200/SL1210, the AT-LP120XBT-USB might be a mouthful, but that doesn’t detract from what’s lurking under the hood.
For starters you get pitch control and a high-performance direct drive motor and an integrated and switchable phono stage. But I think two of the coolest features include a USB output so you can convert your records into audio files, and wireless aptX Bluetooth connectivity - so you can beam your sounds straight to your vinyl headphones.
This deck is easy to set up and has a built-in phono stage, meaning you’re ready to plug and play straight from the box.
If you’re serious about getting the best from your vinyl, but don’t have a huge budget, this is a budget-friendly record player that will last you years.
Read our full Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB review
Best for durability
This Technics turntable is a thoroughly modern unit with direct drive - so there's no belt to mess about with - a built-in cartridge and integrated phono preamp. It’s also semi-automatic, so while you have to place the stylus in the groove to begin with, the tonearm will lift from the record at the end without you needing to lift a finger.
But what I found most impressive about this next-gen turntable is how amazing the SL-1500C sounds. Clean, organised and dynamic, it takes a digital approach that digs up all of the detail on that big, black slab, but it’s not cold and unfeeling in the way of a hi-res music player.
In short, it’s as straightforward as vinyl gets and it sounds amazing. If you’ve got a grand to drop on your analogue habit, this is the best record player to spend it on.
And if you're looking for a turntable that will last you years - representing incredible value for money - the Technics is hard to beat.
Read our full Technics SL-1500C review
Also tested
The above record players are for us, the ones you should be spending your money on. That said, they aren't the only ones we've reviewed. So if you don't see what you're looking for above, here is a selection of other record players we've reviewed.
How to choose the best record player for you
So, you've decided to pull the trigger and purchase a shiny new record player, but what are the key elements to consider before laying down your hard-earned cash?
It might sound obvious but sound quality is the biggest priority by far. While no audio firm has a completely perfect record in this area, sticking to the established and well-respected brands is a great place to start.
There are certainly some flagship brands to keep an eye out for. While our pick for best record player overall is made by Rega, don't forget about Pro-Ject which also boasts an accomplished range, while Technics and Clearaudio dominate the high-end record player sector. Sony and Audio-Technica, meanwhile, are particularly good at pairing true hi-fi audio quality with modern features such as Bluetooth and USB recording. We'd also recommend you take a look at our dedicated guide to the best Audio-Technica turntables.
It's also important to put some thought into whether you’ll actually use those kinds of high-tech features. While it’s nice to have lots of options at your fingertips, don’t splash out on tech you'll never use, as you could save yourself a bit of cash. If in doubt, remember this: the techiest turntable is almost never the one that sounds the best.
Why trust us
⚡ Louder was established in 2017
⚡ Over 80,000 products reviewed on site
⚡ Products are reviewed by passionate music fans with decades of testing experience
Louder’s reviewing team consists of music fans, musicians and professional product testers, who between them have accumulated decades of product reviewing experience, writing thousands of words on music listening gear across thousands of reviews on Louder. Our tests also inform our buyer's guide - just like this one.
As lifelong music fans, we're serious about the tech we listen to our favourite artists on. We want them to sound incredible, giving us all the detail those bands intended us to hear, and deliver the perfect balance of bass, mids and highs. We're looking for pure immersion in our chosen sounds, whether it's a classic '70s rock album, or a cutting-edge noise band.
And we test turntables with albums we know inside and out, and that we've listened to on a variety of systems already, so we know exactly what we should be hearing and when we're being short-changed by lackluster audio.
FAQs
Are record players easy to set up?
It's worth bearing in mind that setting up a turntable for the first time can be a fiddly business, with components that need fitting and carefully adjusted. However, some are simpler than others. Many of the best record players on the market have automatic functionality, which means you only have to press a button for the tonearm to move into place and drop the needle into the groove at the start of the record.
Fully automatic and semi-automatic turntables lift the needle from the groove at the end, too. For many people, though, especially those who have been in the vinyl game for a while, a little initial tweaking and manual operation are keys to the charm of turntable ownership, and the simplest record players are often the best-sounding. Ultimately, only you can decide what type of vinyl listener you want to be.
We go into more detail on how to properly set up a record player in this article.
Do I need speakers for my record player?
While some record players do come with built-in speakers - mostly at the budget end of the spectrum - these can be functional at best. If you’re going down the portable record player route, then this may well be enough for mobile listening of your vinyl.
However, if you’re planning on spending a bit of cash on your turntable and want to get the best from your vinyl, then we do recommend purchasing a dedicated set of turntable speakers. You may need a separate phono preamp for that, but more on that below.
Do I need a phono preamp for my record player?
If you’re boarding the vinyl train for the first time or getting back into the hobby, start by familiarising yourself with some key components, particularly the phono stage. This is essentially a step-up amplifier – they’re often referred to as phono preamps – that increase the tiny output of a record player to a level that a standard stereo amplifier can work with.
Many turntables have a phono stage built-in, as do some stereo amplifiers. Generally speaking, though, a phono-less turntable that goes through an external phono stage before getting to the amplifier will sound best, so consider going down that route if you’re serious about good audio quality from your record player.
So, the question is, does your new record player come with one built-in? If it’s a yes, then you should be able to hook your speakers/amp up directly to your deck. If not, you’ll need to factor in additional budget for a phono pre-amp. Without one, your vinyl will sound quiet and weedy, and nobody wants that.
We have a guide covering this topic in more detail, plus our pick of the best phono preamps available today.
How much should I spend on a record player?
This all depends on whether you’re looking for a budget turntable, or something a little higher up the scale. If you’re going truly budget then you can pick something up for up to around the $/£150 mark. Drop anywhere from $/£200-400 and you’ll be comfortably into territory where the components are better, the sound starts to improve and you’ll get an extra dollop of style.
This is a hugely popular area within the record player space, so you’re spoiled for choice. Don’t forgot you’ll need to pay a little extra if you also want features such as Bluetooth and USB-connectivity.
Now, you could spend absolutely thousands on a new record player, but set a budget of $/$500+ and you’ll be in the realms of a deck that delivers a premium cartridge and needle, luxe components for the platter and tonearm, excellent vibration reduction and record isolation and an overall better quality product that’s designed to last.
How we test record players
We’re music fans first and foremost here at Louder so, while we are certainly interested in the spec sheet of any record player we test, we’re less focused on the nitty gritty detail of a deck that will deliver marginal gains. For us, we’re all about how the turntable sounds.
We listen to music around the clock - it's part of our job - so we know how albums are meant to sound. For our tests, we hook each turntable up to our home systems and spin an eclectic variety of genres, and albums from classic to modern, to really put the gear through its paces. That means we can test if the deck delivers the fullness of modern metal, the low-end of hip-hop, the richness of classical, the lo-fi grit of punk etc. We’ll often call on the ears of a colleague or family member to give us a second opinion, too.
On the whole, we are testing decks with albums we know inside out, so we know how they're supposed to sound. We want to know if a new deck can do them justice.
To cap it all off, we also test how easy the record player is to set up, operate and adjust to work exactly as we want it. Anything that makes it harder to get on with listening to our favourite albums gets marked down.
Finally, we take a look under the hood of any other features a turntable offers, such as computer-connectivity for digitising our records, an automatic tonearm or built-in preamp.
Read more about how we test and rate products at Louder.
Why trust us
⚡ Louder was established in 2017 and founded on long-running brands including Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog (launched in 1986, 1998 and 2009 respectively)
⚡ Over 80,000 products reviewed on site, from music listening tech to albums and box sets
⚡ Our reviewers are all passionate music fans who draw on decades of testing experience
Louder’s reviewing team consists of music fans, musicians and professional product testers, who between them have accumulated decades of product reviewing experience, writing thousands of words on music listening gear across thousands of reviews on Louder. Our tests also inform our buyer's guide - just like this one.
As lifelong music fans, we're serious about the tech we listen to our favourite artists on. We want them to sound incredible, giving us all the detail those bands intended us to hear, and deliver the perfect balance of bass, mids and highs. We're looking for pure immersion in our chosen sounds, whether it's a classic '70s rock album, or a cutting-edge noise band.
And we test turntables with albums we know inside and out, and that we've listened to on a variety of systems already, so we know exactly what we should be hearing and when we're being short-changed by lackluster audio.
- Best vinyl records to test your turntable: The albums you need to own
- Cool vinyl record storage ideas
- How to store vinyl: Tips on keeping your collection in great condition
- Best vinyl record cleaners: Keep your vinyl collection in prime condition
- 9 cheap upgrades you can make to improve your vinyl setup
- Why your choice of stylus and turntable cartridge matters
- Does vinyl really sound better than other formats?
