Q: I am thinking of adding a turntable to my sound system. Do you really think vinyl records sound better than digital formats like downloads or CDs? What would you recommend I buy, and is it worth considering a used turntable from Craigslist?

— D.S., Wexford, Pa.

A: Most audiophiles agree that a super turntable setup will sound better than digital almost 100 percent of the time. No matter where you stand on digital vs. vinyl, you can embrace and enjoy both, and doing so opens up the widest variety of music possible. A turntable not only provides warm, natural sound quality, but also allows you to experience a wide variety of music that can be found used at low prices. Often you can buy a whole album for the price of a single iTunes download.

I usually recommend people to stay away from Craigslist turntables because they tend to be poor quality, ridiculously overpriced, in questionable mechanical condition and very rarely are they set up correctly. Many affordable new turntable packages are offered with a cartridge pre-installed, providing optimal performance with little setup hassle.

Extracting music from the record grooves is a difficult task. Spending more to get a better turntable setup will yield much larger sonic benefits than buying a more expensive receiver or amplifier. If you plan on making vinyl the centerpiece of your system, invest as much as you can. It is a lifetime purchase that pays big dividends over time. Here are some recommendations from $200 to $1,500.

Selling for $200 online is Audio-Technica’s AT-LP120-USB, which I have reviewed and recommended in past columns. It looks like a Technics SL-1200 turntable and has a built-in phono preamp and USB port, so it is all you need to get started with vinyl records. A very modest cartridge is pre-installed. The AT-LP120-USB looks good, sounds good and for $200 it is a no-brainer, but you would be well-served to go to LPGear.com and buy their $309 upgraded version. It has a much better cartridge installed, so your records will sound better and last longer.

Between $400 and $500 the $449 Rega RP1 is worth a look, as is the $499 Pro-ject RM-1.3. The $1,000 price point is where you start getting into some truly superior sound. For $999 my favorite is the Pro-ject RM-5.1 SE. It has an attractive, minimalist modern design with a carbon fiber tonearm and a wonderful cartridge that sounds detailed and sweet.

At $1,500, the king of the ready-to-go turntables is the award-winning Clearaudio Concept. Clearaudio is a German high-end turntable manufacturer that offers turntables that can cost more than $100,000 — with no cartridge! (Yes, five zeroes.) Not only is the Concept the best sounding in the $1,500-and-under class, it is also the best-made and easiest to set up.