Anyone younger than 30 years old has probably never seen a turntable in real life, except maybe at a dance club on the DJ's rig. And, some that are too young to have seen one before may not recognize it or know what it does even if they did see it.

This video will show you how to set up a DJ Turntable

At any rate, turntables are electric devices (not necessarily electronic) that are designed to play vinyl record albums. Turntables operate by the use of a small needle called a stylus running along a groove that is pressed into the vinyl of the record album. This groove starts on the outer edge of the record and continues toward the center. Any vinyl record actually only has one groove, as the old riddle goes. The needle creates an oscillating signal that is transferred to the amplifier which sends the sound to the speakers.

CD players operate much the same way as turntables do in terms of reading information from a spinning disc. Of course, with CD's the information is digital not analog, and the disc is much smaller. CD's are also more resistant to damage than vinyl records, and they are cheaper to mass produce. These are a few of the reasons CD's replaced LP's as the preferred musical recording format. But, even with all of it's advantages and imporvements CD's lack the ambiance and human quality that vinyl LP's possess.

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In 1982 CD's were introduced to the market, and since then they gradually replaced vinyl LP's, until 1991 when record labels stopped pressing vinyl records altogether.

Some people still like that turntables offer a decidedly more sensual musical experience through analog sound reproduction. As opposed to the frigid technical sounds offered through the digital medium. Also, there are thousands of recordings that have not yet been released on CD or mp3, and many more thousands that probably never will. Many people that own turntables strictly for listening to music share a sense of nostalgia. They love hearing their old favorites the way they were meant to be played.

Modern turntables can be enhanced with several different features that include the ability to record your albums to a digital format like mp3. This makes possible the combination of the best of both worlds, so to speak. You can preserve the recording quality of the analog sound with all its "flaws" in a more portable digital format. And, there are other features that allow you to control the speed of the playback, and the sensitivity of the needle.

Depending on your needs, and what you intend to play on your turntable, you should be able to find one with as many or as few special features as you want. For example, if you don't want to digitize your record collection and save it to your computer's hard drive you won't need a turntable with a USB interface and digital recording software.

Whatever your preference, simple or complex, feature packed high end analog audio turntable, or no frills basic old school record player. If you want to listen to those old LP's that have been collecting dust in your grandmother's attic, or if you'd like to play one of the year's new releases on vinyl (yes, some record labels are producing LP's again); you'll need to get your hands on a turntable.