[chrisnice]

I may be a bit biased as my uncle is a vice president at Meade but they have got some awesome telescopes. Their ETX series is probably what you would be looking for. They go for $600ish plus but they are great for amatuer astronomer types. I would suggest finding a retailer for Meade as they could probably tell you what each model can do. The one ive got gives you a good view of mars, depending on the position, and a great view of the moon. A couple years ago when saturn was relativly close to earth I had a great view of its rings. If this is the kind of thing that interests you I suggest that you save and spend a little more as the good telescopes are realy quite amazing.