Janet,
Vinly? You're a boomer, aren't you?
Yeah, me too. So here's what I've got:
I bought a Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 about 2 yrs ago. It's line-in feature pulls right out of the stereo so anything you can play there (cassettes, vinyl, audio from video tapes of great horse races, for example) you can rip right to mp3. Now the catches: I believe Creative discontinued the Jukebox 3 (this is NOT the Zen product line). I just found another one on eBay that Creative is selling as a refurbished unit - they appear to have many . . . Perhaps they will re-introduce the product. Perhaps there is a Santa Claus.
Too, as you may have figured out, once you create the mp3 file, you've got to label it if you ever want to find it again. Aaaaaand you've got to sit by the turntable and hit "stop" every time a song on the turntable ends - I like my recordings clean.
The good news: the quality, in my humble opinion, is stellar. That is to say, waaaay better than taping - no hiss. What you get out of the turntable, you get out of the player.
I've been very happy with what I get from the Jukebox (I have since purchased a slimmer, higher capacity Nomad Zen Xtra - 60g drive, It will keep me out of trouble for a long time, and interfaces perfectly with the current "media play center" that you can get at Creative's website.
I would love to find an alternative to sitting at the stereo cueing and cutting each track. There must be some software that would let you look at a graphical representaion of the recording and cut it into separate tracks, I'm thinking.
I googled vinyl-ripping and the one that jumps out is something like Vinyl R.I.P or some such. To use that you don't need a line in mp3 recorder but you do need a device that converts the stereo signal to a usb connection (apple sells it, about $35, what's it called?) I forget, but it does work on pc's as well as macs. I've tried it a few times, however, and didn't get great results. I'm thinking it was the software, or maybe my pain-in-the-butt Vaio laptop (never again!)
I'd love to hear if you or anyone you know has tried any other vinyl ripping software, especially software that might allow you to clean up tracks . . . it must be out there.
That's all I know. If you need the usb/stereo product name, email me and I'll send the name when I get home.
Jim Walsh
jimmarin1@yahoo.com