I might as well jump in here with the rest of the Janome advocates and say that I, too, love my Janomes. I have 3 (a basic model, 6600 & JemGold) and they all do exactly what I ask of them without complaint.
BUT - make a list of what you want and test sew as many machines as you can bear before deciding on what you want. I made potholder-size quilt sandwiches to take with me for testing on.