Beginner needs some expert advice.

I’m looking into buying my first TT and have narrowed it down to two options. I’m torn between the Audio Technica AT-120X ($220) or the Music Hall MMF 2.3 ($350)

Basically, if I just had to buy a turntable, I’d probably splurge on the Music Hall, but my receiver doesn’t have phono input, so I’m also going to need to buy a preamp. Not sure if cheap (less than $100) preamps are any good as I’m a total novice, so all in I’d be looking at spending twice as much on the Music Hall as the AT (since it has a built in preamp). However, do you think the extra expense on the Music Hall is going to be worth it? Are there any cheap preamps I could get that won’t leave me kicking myself for going cheap? Any and all advice is appreciated.

When making big purchases, I generally err on the side of quality, rather than saving a few bucks. But I’m also wondering if I’ll even notice a difference between the two TTs as this will be my introduction to he analog world. Thanks for reading my rant, and for any advice/help!