Audiophobia

So, I bought a used record player off Craigslist about a month ago. I want to bring it with me when I move to Japan next month. I wanted to stock up on needles/cartridges before I went, so I didn't have to worry about finding some while over there (considering I barely can speak the language). I couldn't manage to slide the cartridge out though. So I tried looking up manuals online today, to find out how to do it. No luck - though I did find a lot of negative reviews of the product I bought. Now, I think it's fine - sounds good to me, and for the price I paid, I figure it's worth it either way, even if it does crap out in a year or whatever. But I did come across something I'd never considered: tonearm weight. Apparently, heavy tonearms can just wear right through your records, and should be avoided. Unfortunately, I'd never considered this, and there's no way to tell if I have a heavy tonearm or not. I guess I shouldn't care...after all, I'm buying used records for cheap, which have been played on who-knows-what players already. I could buy a top of the line player and still end up playing ruined records in no time. But then again, what is "ruined"? What does a "worn out" record sound like? Does the needle just not follow the grooves anymore? Does the sound quality just steadily deteriorate?

I'm not much of an audiophile, but I feel my head starting to spin. I guess, in any case, there's always the internet...

Anyway, I should provide some music, so here's one of my favorite tracks from the new Yolks LP, which I enjoy more and more on every listen. Listens that'll probably be done more via mp3 than from the nice blue vinyl copy I've got, now that I've got all these fears of ruined records in my head, natch...

The Yolks - Jane