What are things to learn and know before getting into vinyl and record players

I'm coming into this area as a practical and philosophical result of:

1. me wanting to own my music
2. CDs are barely being made2.1. If they are - they're not being shipped to my corner of the world
3. Torrenting often failed me in terms of variety.

However - I am absolutely ignorant about equipment, maintainance, and know-hows of the audiophile world.