I am partial to G Loomis and St. Croix. I use G Loomis rods for most
of my baitcasters and St. Croix for most of my Spinning rods. G Loomis
GL3s and St. Croix Avid series is in the price range you are looking
for. I used to use Falcom Cara series but did not like the action or
feel. This is just personal peference tho.
I hear the Helium LTA series from Kistler are GREAT rods. I am not
sure of prices tho.
The best thing to do is go to a tackle shop and feel the rod with the
same reel you will be using on them. Everyones feel is different.
Hope this helps some.