OT: Phono preamp

After 40 years I decided to upgrade my stereo amplifier. I bought a
nice one from Circuit City, not too expensive but full of features for
down the line when I get that home theater system, etc.

The bad news is that it doesn't have any input jacks for a turntable,
and I am a vinyl freak and MUST have access to my record collection.
I plugged the turntable into another audio in jack, but I'm not
getting sufficient volume.

I am told I need a "phono preamp." I've just started looking into
this, but it appears that one can get such a beast for anywhere from
$50 to $5000.

Anybody into this kind of thing and care to offer suggestions? I
don't want to overspend but I don't want to buy something cheap and
then find out it doesn't do what I need it to do.

Margie
.