Here's how I remember it in the 70's- there were a lot of older turntables around,vintage Garrards, Rek-o-Kuts, Empires, not much in the way of Lenco in the States, most of which were considered obsolete. The changer type record players, the Duals, Garrards, etc, were not taken seriously by the hi-fi crowd for obvious reasons. I also remember those little Philips GA 212's, i think they were, with the capacitance sensitive buttons. The AR was a great basic table, brilliant in its simplicity, with a pretty primitive arm. The acrylic mentioned earlier- possibly a Transcriptors? (famous from the Kubrick movie?). The Thorens was a baseline serious turntable, TD -125, because the TD -124 was already long in the tooth.
The early Panasonic/Technics SP-10 was actually sold in the same catalog as the blenders and hairdryers. I think at that point in time, Panasonic was focused on the marvel of DD as technology-get rid of the belt, the idler, etc. I don't remember people comparing the sonics of turntables in those days the way we do now. More attention was paid to the tonearm and the cartridge.
I think that's where the Linn was important- because it was marketed as: focus on the turntable in how it contributes to the sound of the system. Unfortunately, it also led to a movement that said in effect, 'spend all the money on the turntable (this, from a company that at that time, basically only made turntables) and upgrade the rest when you have more money.' There developed a cult following, not only around the turntable, but around the whole approach that was advocated by Linn dealers. I think that became a turn-off, and ultimately there was a back-lash.
I haven't heard a Linn in years. I do remember that they were tricky to set up and know that there were endless upgrades over the years to improve them. I would assume they sound good in the right system, just as some folks advocate Garrard 301's today as a retro-marvel.
