Yeah...
Unless you're disgustingly rich or have so much disposable income you don't know what to do with it, don't even think of paying that for a cartridge, much less a deck. I'm from the age group that had no choice: for most of my younger years we had no CDs, so it was LPs (vinyl records) or tapes (cassettes) and I have a large vinyl collection. However, my deck got destroyed (shelf collapsed) and I've never felt the urge to replace it.
The good about vinyl can possibly outweigh the bad. Some people will look at it with rose-coloured glasses, but I remember the hassle of properly removing the record from its sleeve (hold by both edges with palms cupped), making sure it was free of dust, same for the needle/stylus, and then having to sit fairly still because a record will jump or skip if there's appreciable movement and could be damaged as a result.
Not to mention storage space: remember how large, in respect to CDs, albums are. You'll need to store them preferably standing up, like books, lying against one another on some sort of rack. Not only this, but when side 1 is over you have to manually change and flip over to side 2, and it's only one album at a time, no way to play several one after another (apart from taking one off and putting another on).
I do like vinyl, but I remember all the hassle we had with it and how happy we were when CDs came out. I personally might listen to one from time to time but the convenience aspect of CDs or MP3s beats out any nostalgia for me.
I also don't think they sound any better, but that's just my personal opinion.
Just letting you in on the other side of the story, from those of us who remember what it was REALLY like to play vinyl.
Oh, and don't forget warping: make sure your albums aren't near a rad or any major heat source. They do look great, and it's fun to read the lyrics/story as the album goes along, much more an immersive experience than these days, but a reasonably decent deck should do you. Maybe a diamond stylus, but five hundred dollars? I wish I had that sort of money to throw away...