I'm not sure where you are located but I would go to a couple dealers and check out a few brands. I love my Viking Topaz - it has the embroidery attachment which I love. It has a wide throat and also has a a wonderful bunch of built in stitches. I wasn't looking for a machine when I got it and love my Janome MC 6600.
Most dealers try to get you to buy a more expensive machine but when I went in and said I am not going to spend over a certain amount they were still very helpful. My Viking was a floor model and it came with a full warranty. So they will work with you because they want to sell machines. My Janome dealer thru in the Janome table with the purchase of the machine and it was still cheaper than I could buy on-line. Plus I got to test drive the machines before buying them.