I would like to connect my turntable (I have no idea what model it is - just your common or garden turntable with a phono out) to my CD player (a sort of mid-range Denon job), but if I plug the phono out into the aux in on the CD player I can barely hear it coming out of the speakers. I need an amp I guess - or can I just use a pre-amp 'cause I figured the Denon would sort of be an amplifier too - is it just that it doesn't have a dedicated phono input? I don't know about any of this stuff because up until now I used an all-in-one Sony hi-fi unit thing w/ record player, tape deck, amp etc. all smashed together but it's fucking huge and I want to scale down a bit.

So:
- amp or pre-amp?
- what (pre-)amp should I get on the tightest budget feasible?

thank you kindly, DiSfolk. No indie points on offer for disparaging remarks about my ignorance and avoid debates about the viability of vinyl's continuance as a medium.