I expected them to give it a much lower score, considering their reputation (and the fact that "Parachutes" pulled a 5.3, "Rush of Blood" a 5.1, and "X&Y" a 4.9). 6.5 means they sort of liked it, which is dangerous considering Pitchfork is the poster child for hipster elitism.
I've had the AT-PL50 for about three months now and I'm really happy with it. I've never owned a turntable before (I'm 24) and was nervous about going with the PL50's belt drive over the P120's direct drive, but I'm happy to say I haven't had any problems so far (knock on wood). I mostly use the turntable to play brand new vinyl and it sounds amazing. As far as I can tell it's a great record player for someone just getting into vinyl.
You should be able to get one on Amazon (where I purchased mine) for like 75 bucks. The shipping was super fast and I was listening in no time.
FYI, I bought my copy of "Viva la Vida" on Best Buy's web site and also did the "in store pick-up" option. I'm happy to say the CD was included in the record sleeve.
I gave the album a spin this afternoon and was blown away by how much better it sounded (versus the stream I heard last week). Truly a thing of beauty... :D