RankedVinyl

Best Turntables for Starting a Vinyl Collection (2026)

If you are building a record collection, the turntable is the thing that either protects your records or slowly wears them. Ranked on tracking and cartridge quality (what touches the groove), speed stability, whether you can upgrade the cartridge later, built-in phono preamp convenience, and value. All-in-one suitcase players are left out deliberately: heavy tracking and cheap ceramic cartridges are hard on vinyl you paid good money for.

A community-ranked list on FindBest — currently in the creator's order; no member votes yet. Votes change the order: when members vote, the list is ordered by their votes. How ranking works.

DDaniel Abasolo

10 entriesAdded Oct 17, 2026

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Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB

The turntable most record shops will point a beginner to. It is a direct-drive deck with adjustable counterweight and anti-skate, a switchable built-in phono preamp, pitch control and USB output for digitising records. It ships with an AT-VM95E cartridge, which is upgradeable through the VM95 stylus range. Best Buy Canada lists it at $449.99. The plastic plinth is its main compromise.

4 pros · 3 cons

Pro-Ject Debut EVO 2

The Austrian audiophile entry point. A belt-drive deck with a carbon-fibre tonearm, a damped heavy platter and a pre-fitted moving-magnet cartridge, with electronic speed change. Reviewers rate its sound well above its price, and it keeps the Debut line's upgrade-friendly design. There is no built-in preamp, so budget for one.

4 pros · 3 cons

Fluance RT81+

From Fluance, often described as a Canadian turntable maker, the RT81+ upgrades the popular RT81 with an Audio-Technica VM95E cartridge on a removable headshell, a damped aluminium platter and a built-in Texas Instruments phono preamp. Fluance positions it as a base you can upgrade over time. Its SRP was $299.99 at launch. Strong value for a belt-drive deck with a real wood plinth.

4 pros · 3 cons

Rega Planar 1 Plus

The British minimalist: plug in, switch on, play. Rega builds the tonearm in-house, the deck has very few adjustments to get wrong, and the Plus adds a built-in phono preamp so it connects straight to powered speakers or any line input. It ships with a Rega Carbon cartridge, which is fine but the obvious first upgrade. Speed change means moving the belt by hand on the pulley.

4 pros · 3 cons

Fluance RT85N

Fluance's step up for collectors who want to hear more detail. It pairs a Nagaoka MP-110 moving-magnet cartridge with a polished elliptical diamond, a servo-controlled belt-drive motor and a mass-loaded multi-layer wood plinth. There is no built-in preamp, so add one. Its SRP was $499.99 at launch, which is low for that cartridge and build.

4 pros · 3 cons

Technics SL-1500C

A direct-drive Technics with a coreless motor for very stable speed, a built-in phono preamp you can bypass, auto-lift at the end of a side, and an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge fitted. It is the turntable to buy if you want to stop upgrading. A Quebec retailer lists it at $1,599 CAD, roughly three to four times the entry decks here.

4 pros · 3 cons

Audio-Technica AT-LP70X

The best fully automatic turntable for people who just want to press a button. It lifts and returns the arm at the end of a side, which protects records from a sleepy listener, and has a built-in switchable preamp. The tonearm has no adjustable counterweight, so tracking force is factory-set, and the replaceable stylus is basic. For casual listening, it is a far safer choice than a suitcase player.

4 pros · 3 cons

Audio-Technica AT-LP3XBT

A fully automatic belt-drive deck with Bluetooth output and a switchable preamp, plus a proper adjustable tonearm counterweight and an upgradeable cartridge mount, which the LP70X lacks. Bluetooth is handy for wireless speakers or headphones, though a wired connection sounds better. It is a good middle ground between convenience and caring for your records.

4 pros · 3 cons

Rega Planar 3

The deck many people buy as their second turntable and keep for life. It shares Rega's minimalist approach with an upgraded tonearm, a better platter and motor control, and it is often sold bundled with a Rega cartridge. It has no built-in preamp. It is a big jump in price from the Planar 1, and the improvement is real but most noticeable on a good system.

4 pros · 3 cons

A good used direct-drive deck from a reputable shop

Classic Technics, Pioneer and Dual turntables from the 1970s and 1980s are still sold, serviced, by record and hi-fi shops across Canada. A serviced deck with a new stylus can outperform new entry models for the same money. Buy from a shop that checks speed, bearings and tonearm, and budget for a new cartridge. Avoid untested estate-sale units unless you can repair them.

4 pros · 3 cons

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