Strictly in your price range I'd suggest a Viking, as others have, and also a very plain Joss is a nice hitting cue that is not too bad cost-wise. The Joss tends to hold value SLIGHTLY better in the secondary market too- so if you pan to up-grade again in the future, that might be a consideration.
Now, like the poster before me, if you could eat out at the burger joint a few less times thins month, I can get you into a custom made Mace from Rick Howard. You have a lot of design control (such as length) that you will not have with most production cues (although I beleive Joss does over-length shafts). The other nice thing about the MAce is, you will have it forever. If you come into some money for a custom playing cue, you will always have that fantastic Mace break/jump cue in your bag...
So, as others have said, try out as many cues as you can. Blind, I think these are your best choices.