The portability paired with the all-in-one aspect of the record player makes it a convenient option for me - it has built-in features like speakers, pitch control and a cartridge that I may have needed to purchase separately otherwise. My favorite part about this record player is that it’s completely portable - it’s not only more compact and lightweight than other record players I’ve seen on the market (weighing in at only 5.5 pounds and fitting nicely atop my dresser), but it also features a stylish briefcase design that I can easily carry around via the handle. I do have to manually position the tonearm where I want the record to start playing, but it manages to go down smoothly using a small lever (and gives me the freedom to start my album at whatever track I want). I can play an album and forget about it without the risk of scratching the record - a manual record player, on the other hand, forces you to carefully lift the tonearm or else it continues spinning. The Cruiser Deluxe is a semi-automatic record player - in our guide to turntables, experts told us these are great for beginners (like me) since they stop automatically once they reach the end of the record. The Cruiser Deluxe fit my criteria to a T: It’s a very basic record player that sounds good, looks great and costs under $100.

(Realistically, I also couldn't.) I wanted something stylish, functional and affordable, and I wasn’t overly concerned with perfectly crisp sound. I knew going into the shopping process that a record player is a worthwhile investment for many people, but I wasn’t willing to spend hundreds of dollars (or perhaps even thousands) on a device I’d be using for background noise. A year later, I’m still just as obsessed as when it first came out of the box. A few TikTok videos and Pinterest photos later, I gave in and bought my own turntable at the start of last year: the Crosley Cruiser Deluxe. Several of my friends already had record players they loved when I started looking for my own, and I’ve seen them all over social media over the last few years (vinyl sales hit $1 billion in 2021, their biggest year since 1986). I’m the type of person who always needs some background music, and I’ll usually reach for my record player for casual listening when I’m cooking, cleaning or simply existing at home.

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