I think the Accuquilt Go! is among the most versatile cutters for both piecing and applique. I have the crank Go! and really like it. However, it ***was*** hard to crank at first. With use, it has gotten much easier. If you have or anticipate any shoulder, arm or hand problems over the next 10 years, I would pay the extra money and get the newer Go! electric. There is an Accuquilt group on Yahoo and all of the posts there, from people who had gotten the Go! Big electric cutter, have been very positive. It would be worth the extra money to me if I didn't already have a regular Go!
Accuquilt also has a studio size which would be very fun to use because it can cut more layers than the Go! and because its dies can cut many more pieces at one pass. However, the dies for it are considerably more expensive plus there is no electric option for it. The Studio is wonderful for prolific quilters, but for most home quilters I think the Go! is more practical. One thing I really like about the Go! is that it folds up into a very compact unit that is light enough in weight to be easily moved around for storage. Although the new Studio now folds up, I imagine it is still very heavy to move. You would want a dedicated space for it.
I have not been tempted by the other cutting machines. The ones such as the Cricut would be too fiddly for me. I believe you can cut only one layer at a time and fabric has to be adhered to an adhesive board. It would be great for a quilter who likes to design their own unique applique patterns. That's just not me.
Some people like the Sizzix because it can handle Accuquilt dies (with a shim) as well as Sizzix dies, giving more choices in dies. However, it is hand crank.
Based on my experience, I would recommend the Go! Big electric cutter. Start with just the dies you will use most, and gradually add on to your die collection as sales come up. For geometric shapes, I find the triangles and odd-shapes (hexagons, circles) to be the ones I am most grateful for. The triangles are produced with the dog ears cut off, which makes accurate piecing so easy! I also like some of the block dies (such as Hunter's Star) for the fast, accurate cutting of difficult pieces. And finally, I have quite a few of the applique dies. I use the applique dies for cutting the freezer paper I like to use for turned-under machine applique; however, a more common use of them is to cut fabric that has already been ironed to a fusible, so you can do really fast fusible applique.
My 32 cents worth of advice.......... (inflation!)
Edit: Here is a link to the Yahoo accuquilt group, if you want more information from people who own the various accuquilt cutters:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...tquilters/info