Turntable suggestions?

My wife has lots of old vinyl that she'd/we'd like to get into digital format. Anybody have a turntable they'd recommend or nix?

What's the best way to get great reproductions of the records? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

We have a 27" iMac i7 if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

-Brent

Hi.
Firstly, avoid the ION or any other make USB turntables, they are not good at all to be honest.
Next, you need to have a turntable with a decent cartridge.
Now, you can either have a turntable with a built in pre-amp or buy a separate pre-amp (they vary in price a lot, but no need to spend fortunes). Either way, a pre-amp is important, without it you get loads of white noise and low volumes.
For connection to the iMac you have 2 options. Get a split stereo to 3.5mm mini jack cable, and connect to line in, or get a USB audio interface like the Edirol UA-1EX.
Finally you need recording software.
Audacity will do a reasonable job, but my preference is for Audio Hijack Pro.
You can also get some pretty powerful noise reduction software (as a built in plug in to Audio Hijack too).
Overall though, the most important thing is to make sure the vinyl is very clean and the needle in top condition.
As for turntable recommendations. It depends on budget.
There are some great turntables for little money, or you can spend $$$.

I have made hundreds of recordings from vinyl, but it would take an age to type it all out for you.
Any specific questions reply here or shoot me a PM.

File of instructions about using Griffin technology to convert from analog to digital via your Mac. The file was written for me by a Mac friend. Hope you find it useful.

Hugh

Thanks for the help and suggestions! Much appreciated!

-Brent