The Alabaster one does have a nice groove - there seems to be some decent "builders" out there at the moment. Far more appealing than the loopy techno by numbers crap that appears to be absolutely everywhere. Digging for decent tracks can be frustrating, but the rewards are there as I think that this thread proves.
The CDJ's were £300 on eBay, Darryl - second hand CDJ-1000's. They're not USB and don't have a fancy display - not that I don't salivate over bits of kit like the CDJ Nexus 2000 or whatever - but I just don't need that. I never imagined this day would arrive, but I'm not buying and mixing music for any other reason that my own self indulgence and enjoyment. If other people like what I cobble together, then that's a bonus. In my view, this approach suits my needs perfectly at this moment in time. My previous and long standing position as a purist, vinyl only DJ doesn't make sense with the abundance of music and technology that's out there now, not to mention the cost. I saw a 4 track 12" for £14.99 on either Bleep or Boomkat today. At those prices it'd cost £100's to put a set together, and that must be stifling physical music sales in dance music world - whereas I used to bag up on £5 12's from Fat Cat, Eukatech and Atlas back in the day!
I conclude that jealously needn't be a factor - for £150 (give or take), you could just get one and see where it leads you....