Project Debut and Music Hall 2.2 are great choices if you need to include a phono pre amp. I had a music hall 2.1 for many years but recently upgraded to a rega P2. My Music Hall was a great turntable and perfect for what you might be looking for.
For about $600 you could get a Rega RP 1 with a good modest pre amp and have a wonderful sounding piece of equipment.

I'm new to these forums so you might wish to hold on and read what others have to say.

SummerIsle,

Thanks for the quick reply. I've read that the Rega's are nice but my local "audiophile" store doesn't carry them. And since there does not appear any significant savings in buying this kind of gear online, I just assume support the local shop. They probably need every little sale these days.

Both the Pro-Ject Debut and Music Hall 2.2 get great reviews. My local shop has the Debut for $379 and the Music Hall for $499. I think I'm just struggling with the price difference. Is the Music Hall $120 better? Or would that money be better spend on cables or maybe even upgrading to a acrylic platter, or dare I say a tube phono pre?

Both turntables are manufactured by Pro-ject. Near as I can tell, the big difference between these two 'tables may be that the Music Hall allows for adjustment of vertical tracking angle (VTA). If you have any notion that you may want to change/upgrade cartridges at any time in the future, this adjustability is a VERY good thing to have. Also, for $499 you should be getting the 2.2 LE, which has the optional finishes; for $50 less you can get the 2.2 in piano black lacquer.

Look at the Project RPM 1.3 Genie...