hundreds of us can pile on here to share our lists of favorites. the bottom line, though, is that beauty and quality are in the eye of the beholder.
where you buy it guarantees nothing.
price guarantees nothing.
i would recommend that you cruise quiltshops, chain stores, and clearance pages at the online sites.
as you can afford to, buy a little bit here and there in order to discover what appeals most to you. makes lists and take notes for future reference.
if i want to "test drive" a brand for the first time i will check sites like thousandofbolts.com and quiltinaday.com. they always have oobledy googobs of name brands on sale. consider doing the online fabshophop, too. (don't order anything until you have gone through the whole list of shops. the prices will often vary widely. keep track of the things that interest you and then go back to the shops that had them at the lowest prices.)