As with sewing machines, the answer you get to this question from members will vary widely. Most of the machines sold are nice machines and will embroider well. It also depends on what you expect to do as well.

That being said here is my humble opinion.

I have had two - A Babylock Ellagio (which I loved and sold) and a Pfaff 2170. I wanted to be able to send designs from my computer directly to the machines. I also sold Vikings for a time. All three of those machine are excellent choices but so are others such as Janome, Brother and Berninna. The Babylock had incredible stitches, not picky about thread and a fantastic display while the Pfaff has great stitches, is very finicky about thread(only like the expensive stuff), wonderful sewing IDT, better hoop size options and connects directly to my computer (I have 4D software). I also bought this 2170 used off of Craigslist.

My recommendations: First think about these questions -
1. How much do you want to spend?
2. How large of an Embroidery do you want to do? Some machines will only do 4x4 (this is really small and does not give you a lot of area), some can do 5x7 while some do really large and are very flexible.
3. What sewing features might you want on the machine?
4. How do designs get loaded? Some machines can load from a USB stick some connect directly to a computer and some use a machine specific card - which will require expensive software to load and are pricey to purchase preloaded designs.
5. Will you want "classes" and support? It is best to make sure that you have a dealer around to answer questions, have service and cleaning as needed even if you don't want classes.

Next go to every sewing shop that sells any embroidery machines and ask to play (don't get sucked in to purchase until you play with a lot of them). If you have any questions about what I have suggested - fell free to PM me. Best of luck on this - they are expensive but fun

I have a Babylock Ellageo, Brother Innovis 4000D, and a Brother PR600II. Betty has given you great advice. If you don't want to spend a lot on additional software make sure the unit has a USB so you can take from computer directly to machine. There are some free viewer programs out there that will let you see the design and drag or copy to the USB. Allbrands.com has a free embroidery editor right now but I haven't tried it yet. The size frame I use the most is 5 x 7. I occasionally sew something bigger but not that often.

Buzz Explore is the program I bought to unzip, view and categorize my designs. I love it.

I have had 3 in the past few years...

Started off with a Janome 350e - great machine, max hoop 5x7. I wanted a bigger hoop...

Sold that and bought a Janome MB4 - 4 needle, heavy, loud home commercial machine. I hated it and sold it - to someone with a home embroidery business and she loves it.

Bought a Brother 4500d and I love it. love love love it. I don't use my machine as often as I should I'm sure. In fact, it's been a long while since I have used it but I do have a lot that I want to make on it in the upcoming months so I better get started on it lol.

I would not trade my Brother 4500d for nothing.

There was a similiar post just a little while ago. I have a Bernina Deco 650. It is my second stand alone embroidery machine. I paid $1500 for my first one, a Deco 350 almost 20 years ago. I traded it up to up for a used Deco 650. I would suggest you check with various dealers for trade ins they might have at a much lower price than a new one. In my experience those that trade in machines didn't use them much and the prices are much better. Like a car they loose value the minute they leave the lot or shop. I prefer the stand alone machine as I am then able to sew on my other machines while the embroidery is going on. Mine only does a 4 inch motif and that is usually plenty. I have a huge collection of patterns, stabilizers, hoops and thread, of course. My machine uses the pes format which is widely available from various sources. It is a hobby that can run into serious money. I have done a lot of embroidery with my machines in 20 years.

Thanks mpspeedy - I did forget to add that. Make no bones about it please - this hobby can be a money pit. The machine is only the first purchase. Then comes thread, stabilizer and designs (which could be a lengthy thread on its own - lol). But I have done it for years and have a blast with it.

Pfaff 7570 sews great and does beautiful embroidery. Very happy with my Pfaff.

I have a bernina with an embroidery attachment. I like sewing and quilting on it better because I have to have a computer to run the embroidery program (very inconvient). I am looking into an embroidery only machine. I have it narrowed down to three brands: bernina deco, brother, and janome. Still doing alot of research. All three are in my budget, well the bernina is a little more expensive, but I need to research alot more before committing to anything. My husband would like to purchase one for me for our anniversary in August. But I am not sure I will have one picked out by then. Good Luck! The main thing is make sure you know your budget. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and spend more if you are not careful.