Paint sprayers come in three general categories
Airless sprayers - mostly for less precise painting (i.e. houses)
Hobby/Airbrush - mostly for smaller painting areas and or very fine control
Standard/HVLP - used for most work involving general quality coverage
HVLP is High Volume, Low Pressure which means a lot of paint applied without needing a lot of air
Unfortunately, it has been my experience that cost and quality are linked pretty tight with painting equipment.
Modern spray cans from major manufacturers are actually more than good enough for most folks needs (I use OSH or Krylon "Spray at any angle" type) The biggest bang-for-your-buck in painting comes in the preparation work. (see this link
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post5960357)