What would be the best turntable stylus for a modest budget? Also, how do I replace it manually?

Oh boy.

Define modest. There is an absurdly huge price range for these things. I'm assuming you want to replace the whole cartridge, you can change out individula styli, but it's not something i'd recommend you try unless you have some experience with these things (and probably more cost effective to do the whole cart anyway).

That being said, this is one of the best sounding cheap carts I've heard, I'm using one in one of my turntables right now.

What is the difference between this needle and other needles of this price? Is it a matter of overall better sound and durability?

Would it be worth it to buy a new turntable. My turntable's pretty old, yet in new condition. But it's probably not even worth 60$

Just find out the number of the stylus that fits your turntable either by looking at the one that's in it already or by "Googling" your turntable brand and model + "replacement stylus" or something like that until you track down the right number, then go to a place that sells them. You might find a website that sells them who already has a list or chart to help you figure out which stylus you need for your turntable.

Chances are, with an inexpensive turntable, you couldn't replace the cartridge if you wanted to. You just need to get a direct replacement for your needle/stylus.

...Here you go...this place has charts you can download to help you purchase the correct stylus.
http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Replacement-Stylus
Hope that helps.

One more thing: here's a place where I bought a stylus that has cheap prices. They don't stock many models, but if they have the one you need, you can save some money. I'd call to make sure it's in stock before ordering.
MAT ELECTRONICS

Nolan_B:

As far as the age of your TT, the age may actually be a plus. Aside from mega $$$ high end turntables for rich people with too much money on their hands, most of the best turntables are older pieces of equipment, yours may be better than you think. What model is it? Most of the new TT's you see for sale under 200 bucks are absolute garbage, seriously. The cartridge is the most important part of a tt anyway, so you might want to stick with yours, depending on what it is of course.

As for the Grado cartidge, it's a nice, warm sounding cart with good control of bass, midrange and treble, reasonably detailed, and has good channel seperation. It's pretty quiet, though unshielded, so you might get some hum if you place your tt right on top of an amp or something. Grado has been making carts for a long time, and are definitely a solid company. I've never heard a bad Grado, even the cheap ones, and they tend to last a long time. Most modern carts have sapphire or diamond tipped styli, so durability isn't really an issue as long as you take care of it and don't plan on playing thousands of hours through it without cleaning the needle (or your records)

I have a Kenwood KD-55RCL. It came with a Kenwood 65B stereo which was purchased for 100 dollars. The turntable had never been used, as the guy bought the stereo just for the CD player and tapedeck.

I have 2 Technics 1200s from the mid 90's, one of which I use in my stereo setup and it rules. I'd suggest looking for one on Ebay, you can find them (and models from the 70's mind you) for under $200 most times and well worth it.

I have a newer Stanton headshell with a Stanton 500-II on it. Although it's the classic hip-hop cartridge, it's a workhorse and sounds great. I have the whole thing running through an old Marantz amp I picked up about 10 years ago on Ebay from the early 70's and it sounds excellent with a good set of headphones.

Cool call on that Grado, I've heard some things about it esp about the frequency range, I'd like to pick that up next (although I have another 500 unused cartridge).