I advise the OP to do the tweaks and checks that have been recommended here to make the most of his/her current setup, then shut off the computer and forget about "wanting to enjoy vinyl the way everyone else seems to on the forum." Almost everyone of that "everyone" also enjoys digital, and prefers it over vinyl in a lot of cases. You just don't see a lot of talk about it because digital is a heck of a lot easier than vinyl. Anyone can buy a halfway-decent CD player and DAC, plug it in, and enjoy the way it sounds. Then you can spend your time and money on more important things, like debating which audiophile fuse will make your amplifier sound best, and whether or not you really need those $5000 speaker cables which are as thick as fire hoses...
I wouldn't call vinyl " underwhelming " but with the advent of great CD spinners vinyl became a redundant format for me. Plus more costly and more hassle.
Circa €2,500 has got me a great sounding vinyl only system in our small front room, it takes a good bit of experimenting to get everything to your personal listening taste for the money you can spend on it of course, good mastering and pressings as said here are the number one component though, with my best ones I feel immeresd in the music, the soundstage, little details and transients etc give me the shivers sometimes.
It's a handy time-saver, though - when people post, "You have to spend (x) to get good sound!" I know that I can safely "Ignore" them.
I have several examples of LPs or boxed sets that came with a CD of the same album, which I would think should give a relatively level comparison of the two formats. In every one of those cases, I much prefer the sound of the LP to the sound of the CD, at least in my system. I attribute this not only to the mastering, but also to my playback gear. I’ve got just north of $3k into my analog components, versus only a couple hundred in optical transport and DAC. This is not some bias due to “sunk cost” on my part; there is just an undeniable difference in how alive and open the vinyl copies sound compared with the CDs. Now, I do also have LPs that sound like somebody just ran an mp3 into a cutting lathe (which is very possibly exactly what somebody did), for which I also own a CD copy that sounds good, so it’s obviously not true that every vinyl record will sound better than every CD. Mastering does also matter here, of course!
Seven years ago I bought my first all vinyl set up. I spent £1k. It sounded better - to my ears, for my taste - than anything I had heard digitally (hence coming back to vinyl). Upgraded since, but you can get excellent vinyl playback at a modest price these days, with a minimum of maintenance.
Get an electronic scale ($15 or less on Amazon) and re-check your tracking force. Up it to 2 grams or whatever the max is for the 2M Blue. It sounds like you are tracking too light or something is messed up in the tonearm (bearings) or tonearm lift. Your gear looks fine for good sound although I have read about tonearm issues with the RT85. One member here even replaced the entire tonearm assembly. And like others have said, there are some crappy sounding vinyl reissues out there. Do a little research on which versions to buy or better yet buy good condition original pressings off Discogs.
I got Jethro Tull Aqualung (Steven Wilson Remix) and it came with a 16/44 (CD quality) download. I definitely give the edge to the vinyl version (same mastering obviously). Both sound good though and recommend it. I stay away from reissues mostly these days unless I get to see plenty of great reviews and a reasonable price. Rather pay $20 for a near mint original pressing off Discogs, which I know will sound as good as I remembered it back in the day.
You strangely try to turn a fact into a criticism of vinyl but the actual fact is, most people here who enjoy vinyl also enjoy digital because we're not narrow-minded and jealously wed to the CD format. I just like music, and enjoy many formats that bring me to the music. And the only time I "prefer digital to vinyl" is when I want to hear 5.1.
I have 2 early copies of Aerosmith 1 & 2 that sound tremendous on vinyl. These were played on a bottom feeder Pioneer TT & Shure cartridge, certainly less than $250 when new. However, when i play Toys in the Attic, that sounds very anemic with no balls. Almost unlistenable. If i spend $5000, will it make Toys sound better? My take is that good sounding vinyl will sound good on most any TT/Cart combo.
I'd say there is something wrong with the setup or a faulty arm. Years ago I had a Linn LP12 with a Linn Akito arm. Even when carefully setup with a very good quality cartridge it still managed to mistrack with plentiful IGD and sibilance. The same cartridge on a different deck sounded ace. Get it checked out by your dealer.
I have an original of Aqualung that sounds terrible, but that’s because whoever owned it before me (it was given to me by a friend whose uncle had died and nobody else wanted his records) must have been using it to cut lines of coke or something.
Toys in the Attic a reissue? Guessing yes. I was disappointed with Get Your Wings and Rocks reissues too.
Spin LPs because you dig it, not because you expect better sound. IMHO this is the #1 reason to play vinyl when you want to listen to music. If your priority is sound, then that's a different argument. Your choice: music vs. sound. You can have both your cake & eat it too with LPs that have awesome masterings with great pressing quality, but again, this is another rabbit-hole. It's a hard decision, but could save you aggravation and money. Just sayin'...
Also fwiw - I have lived in apartments where the soft wood floors made it virtually impossible to place the turntable on any surface coupled to the floor. If I walked across the room, it would skip. I've since mounted the turntable on a wall shelf and it's never happened once since. I kinda feel like it sounds better b/c it's more isolated but who knows.
