Hi,
I'm a retired Home Ec. teacher and have used MANY machines. I highly recommend either knowing how to fix your machines or having a respected dealer close by. Something always goes wrong when you most need that machine.
I have a Janome Quilting machine 4900 and a wonderful Featherweight Singer #221 that I bought on ebay. I love them both. I do not do machine embroidery or many fancy stitches, zigzag is about all I use. The 221 has a small needle hole and the fabric of small pieces do not get lost in there.
Check out Threads magazine for machine reviews. Threads #35 and #102 have some good articles. Good Luck! Margo