Last few I have bought have all been HP's, all have card readers USB 2.0 ports, fire wire ports and so on and fit your price range. Have been relativly bulletproof (not counting operator errors) at the world headquarters as well as home.
Plus ya just gotta love Best Buy's 0% interest for months and months, $500 over a 12 months is a whopping $41.ish a month, yes I am a cheap bastard!
YMMV