Vent: the felt pad on my turntable platter was the real reason my records skipped for 3 months
I kept blaming my stylus and bought two replacements at $35 each before a guy at the shop on Division Street in Chicago pulled the platter and showed me the pad had flattened out and was letting the record slip just enough to skip on loud bass parts, so check that pad before you spend a dime on needles.