IMO Linn will always be the standard against which others are measured, especially the venerable LP12 which has been around in one form or another for practically forever. They've always been too expensive for me, though, as are most of the VPIs as well. I just happened on a deal on a demo Scout a few years back when I was having some trouble finding a cartridge I liked that didn't pick up some hum from the motor of my old direct-drive Denon as it tracked closer to the center of the record. If it hadn't been for that issue, I might never have gone looking for a new turntable, as I was plenty happy with the old one, and the old Infinity Black Widow arm I had on it.
But when I read Art Dudley's review of the Scout, I figured I should look into finding one. I've always valued his opinion on most audio things, and even our musical tastes are similar, so when I ran across this demo from Audio Advisor I jumped on it.
It's amazing the number of high-quality turntables out there right now, from a bunch of different sources, Thorens included. They've hung in there all along and I'm sure they're happy to see this resurgence in vinyl interest.