Quite honestly, for the price range you are stating, my recommendation is for a Brother machine. I have two models, one is an Innovis 2000 (my home machine with all the bells and whistles) the other is a Project Runway model (I forget the model #) This one was about $300.00. I got it from a machine shop so it has the back up of lessons and servicing. I have been very happy with both machines. The other, higher esteemed companies, may be a little bit better, but you pay so much for them. If you can afford it, great, if you can't, you can get almost as good a model from Brother. I have a Bernina 440 QE and never use it anymore since the Innovis does all it can and more.