So, any recommendations for non-$3500 cartridges that sound good?

At the $500 level, your best bet is the Dynavector 10X5 or Audio-Technica AT33PTG/II. Once you start getting into serious money, you really need to pay attention to not just this cart or that but compliance and output so you can match a particular MC cart with the right arm and phono pre. I guarantee you that a moderately priced arm and cart that are made for each other will outperform expensive arms that are too light or heavy for a particular cart.

The Benz Gliders and SLRs are ok, not spectacular. The LP-S Class is fucking awesome, but getting a Benz cart in the US seems to be a real problem these days, and anyway, the LP-S is $5K. Koetsus are ONLY worth it if you can find a huge discount on one. I've seen Rosewood Signatures listed for $1500 or so, which is a very good deal. The $4500 retail? Forget it.

Lyra's Delos is actually not too shabby for $1600. The balance is still leaner than I would prefer, but it's not as analytical as some of Lyra's far more expensive carts. Rega carts are a giant pile of crap, avoid. A few years ago I would've whole heartedly recommended a Shelter, but Shelters have gotten really pricey lately. I just don't see the 901 being worth $2600, and my 7000 definitely isn't worth $3400. I picked it up for half that.

I know very little about Soundsmith's affordable carts, so I can't make a recommendation one way or the other there. Being good at $4K carts doesn't mean you're any good at $1K carts - ask Benz Micro. ZYX's R100 series has a very good reputation, but you're talking $2500 there.

Edit: I haven't heard Shelter's new 501 MKIII. In fact I didn't even know about it until just now. The price really isn't bad though.

LOL, I guess I should have specified my budget a bit more...
I'm still a starving college student, so $500+ is a bit rich for my blood. Is there anything under, say $250 that I should look into? Preferably even less? I've heard that swapping out styli from higher end Shure carts is a quick and cheap way to upgrade the quality of the lower end Shures. Right now, I just have a Technics SL-1600 that I got from a relative for free.

LOL, I guess I should have specified my budget a bit more...
I'm still a starving college student, so $500+ is a bit rich for my blood. Is there anything under, say $250 that I should look into? Preferably even less? I've heard that swapping out styli from higher end Shure carts is a quick and cheap way to upgrade the quality of the lower end Shures. Right now, I just have a Technics SL-1600 that I got from a relative for free.

A friend of mine uses a Jico stylus with his Shure V15VxMR on a Rega MB300 with good results. The $99 Ortofon 2M Red is pretty much the default entry level recommendation from most of the audiophile press, but I'm not sure it's as great as they say it is. Denon's $199 DL-103 is another popular recommendation, BUT you need a heavy mass arm/headshell for it, so keep that in mind. Assuming your arm has a removable headshell, you can replace it with something a bit heavier to properly match the 103. You may also need to add a counter-weight to the back though if you do that.

IMO though your best bet for an affordable MM cart is an Audio-Technica - maybe something like an AT-440ML if you can swing $200. Check out LP Gear, they have loads of A-T carts and can probably steer you in the right direction for your setup.

I would probably like to know what Dave's own TT setup looks like, wonder what a man of seemingly infinite knowledge and experience uses at his own place.

Hah! I wouldn't say infinite, but I've played with my share of stuff. My vinyl rig used to change fairly frequently, but with my current setup I just don't really feel the need to do anything else, I'm kind of done. I've said else where that I believe that Origin-Live tables outperform most of the other tables I've heard at the sub $4K level like the AVID Diva II and Michell Gryo. After hearing Nottinghams though, I knew I had to try one at home, and once I did that was it.

Specifically it's the Space 294 table and matching Ace Space 294 12" arm, which at this sort of price level I think is untouchable. You have to push start the platter, and then to stop it, you basically use your hands a brake. It's weird, but you can't argue with the sound. The arm is a unipivot which is definitely NOT my favorite type, but again, you can't argue with the sound, so I put up with it. It also matches VERY well with Shelter carts.

I'm sure an uber Kuzma or Brinkmann would easily beat this rig, but even if I doubled what i have in it, I don't think I'd get that much further. If I see an LP-S Class pop up on Audiogon or something I would definitely grab it, but otherwise, I'm set.