There are so many nice machines on the market. The janome skyline, the juki QVP2000, and the brother q-series(or babylock) equivalents come to mine for your price range. The babylock jazz seems nice if you don't want computerized but want some great features. I also like viking but don't know what models are in your price range. Most of the models I have mentioned I know are getting good reviews. I have been loyal to my brand so I tend to stick with my brothers or brother made babylocks as they have been reliable to me