i know absolutely nothing about turntables. i've been searching for information for 2 weeks or so, and somehow i haven't learned anything. i've attempted to play about 2 records in my life, and both times i broke the record player beyond recognition.

anyway, i think maybe i've been asking my questions wrong... or asking the wrong questions all together. so, i'm going to try again.

1. starting from scratch, what do i need to listen to my records? i had originally thought of buying a suitcase model record player, but apparently people hate those. i know i need a turntable and... speakers. what else?

2. most "budget" entry-level turntable suggestions that i've seen have cost between $300 and $500. rarely have i seen anything lower than $200. i've seen more than a few discussions of replacement cartridges that cost $500+. i completely understand the market for that, but for the casual listener it seems a bit excessive. i really just want to hear my records in decent quality without damaging them and without spending billions of dollars to maintain the turntable. i'd really like to spend less than $100 on the whole thing, but i'm getting the feeling that it's not going to happen. is there anything out there for casual listeners? if not, what's the lowest that i can expect to spend without buying crap?

3. is there any kind of "turntables for complete idiots" website? i keep finding myself lost in terminology, and every site i find that attempts to explain things confuses me even more.

4. i just received a few 45's in the mail. they're in great condition, but they have dust all over them. what's the safest way to go about cleaning them?

thanks... and my apologies for being an idiot.