spiderland

Long time lurker but first time posting! I've been playing records for a good few months on my dad's old player but it's really terrible so i'm looking for something new. I've got about £300 ($450) to spend. Thing is I don't know where to even start with all the components needed to play records on a "proper" record player. The one i'm using has built in speakers (i know) so I just plug it straight into the wall. I've read about pre amps and stuff, but no idea what I actually need altogether. Can anyone help me in just writing out the setup really simply for me? Thanks a lot and I look forward to posting a lot more regularly when I'm all set up!