Janome 8900 for an all purpose machine. It has an 11" harp and ALL the bells and whistles -- does everything except doesn't have an embroidery unit (but does embroidered letters and numbers).
Brother PQ 1500s for a straight stitch workhorse of a machine. It has a 9" harp. I use mine primarily for FMQing since I now have the Janome.
I talked to Donna at Kens Sewing Machines today and they are selling the Janome 8900 for $1695.00 and can ship them out of state for the next few weeks. Usually the 8900 can't be shipped. These were machines they demoed at the Paducah Quilt show but will carry the full warranty just as if they were new.
http://www.kenssewingcenter.com/