Any advice for first turntable?

Either of those two tables should give you a more than satisfactory experience.

I would perhaps tend toward the SL 1200 more than the Rega (though I own both a hot-rod Rega and an SL 1200) - the operational convenience and ease of cartridge change, along with the solidity of build of the Technics all count in its favour.

There is a thread here with a few tweaks that are worth doing to the Technics.

I am a Denon fan and can recommend the DL-110 HOMC for use with the Reflex M and the 1200.

There are a good number of MM cartridges that will work well with this table, the Goldring 1042 receives good reports as also the Stanton 681 (if you can find one),  the AT-95, 120 and 150MLX.  

Any of the above cartridges will give a good performance, some an exceptional one and none should be over $500, the AT-95 can be had for $50 and the 120 not a lot more. 

As to whether this would better the sound from a CD player depends in part on the CD player in question and in part on how well set up the cartridge and table are and how well cleaned your records are - there is a little more to it than closing the tray and pressing play 

For myself, I would prefer to listen to records generally, despite having several reasonable CD players.

Hope this is some help.