I worked in record stores for many years (70's to early 90's) and was a manager for 12 years. At the time, I think the deck-of-choice in most of the stores was the good old Garrard SP25 MkIII. Amps, speakers, etc., varied greatly depending on the particular store.
I stopped buying/upgrading hi-fi a long time ago but do have a decent enough system -- for me -- mainly comprising of Technics separates (e.g., A900 Mk2 amp, SL-P770 CD player, Systym speakers, etc). However, I also still have (and use) two original bits of hifi kit that I bought around 1972/3 - a Pioneer PL12D deck and a pair of Leak 2020 bookshelf speakers. Both still going strong.