There are simple solutions available for this process, also. You can get a turntable with AD conversion and equalisation built-in which has only a USB for an output.
I'm interested in one of those but I worry about the quality of the pickup.
The center of my analog setup is the turntable system itself, though. I'm planning to add another tonearm to my base. I think the vintage Dual arms were really good, but the modern tonearms have many more adjustments to eliminate some of the obstacles to fidelity inherent to LP playback. Imagine adjusting the cartridge angles with a set of screws, instead of having to rely on shims.
Yeah. I've not seen modern arms, though. I like Dual turntables--I used to like mostly everything they did and had a portable cassette player made by them in the 80s, with great sound.
There's a Denon turntable that I want, that includes a RIAA filter. Or a slightly more expensive one from Cambridge. Thinking about buying one of those. Both have RCA output, no USB, but I have a terrific old preamp. 
I think, if you have a killer preamp and a killer soundcard, you have the worst battle punked already. There are many turntables which will suffice, depending upon how sensitive you are to anomalies in the tracking of an LP/cartridge combo.
My problem is that I am very sensitive to phase, so I expect my shit to work really well. The same issues that impact all LP playback also affect those USB turntables. You can choose a cartridge/pick-up of your preference, but aligning it is still the major problem. The best one on the market does not have adequate adjustments for the four angles involved in aligning a cartridge to the plane of motion of a platter.
Show me the Denon you want and I'll show you the tonearm I plan to add as an secondary on my turntable base. I will then have the option of using either arm depending on what the program material is./
I'll find a pic, anyway.
One of my long term plans is to build my own turntable, belt drive platter, two hundred pounds or what ever, seventeen inch tonearm, massive base leveled in sand, etc.etc....
ponds from now on.