These two concepts don’t go together. The best brands will start at thousands of dollars!

Even really good eyepieces cost more than that!

You can save some $$ and buy a Dobsonian, but they are more or less impossible to use for photography unless you spend a $$ of money.

Plan on buying a 6″ or 8″ scope and a good set of eyepieces and you’ll be set for years.

Astrobuf

“best” has many dimensions. price? optical quality? portability? aperture?

i have three “best” telescopes. each is best at what i use it for.

one is very portable. i can set it up and be observing in 90 seconds.

the second has extremely high optical quality. it’s brilliant on planets, and i can take pictures with it. with a widefield eyepiece the view is like being on the bridge of the enterprise.

the third is huge. i use a stepladder to reach the eyepiece. i can only use it a handful of times a year, but each occasion is memorable. i carry it around in my van. it’s really cool.

please note that i haven’t said anything about brands. they don’t matter, though the high-optical-quality scope is a premium brand, known for their exceptional optics.

you need to define what you consider a reasonable price, and you need to define what’s wrong with your old scope. only then can we even begin to answer your question.

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner’s telescopes:

For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington’s Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).

You’ll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:

Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don’t buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:

If you can, visit your local astronomy club. See what its members use and listen to their advice and try out their equipment. This way, you can make a better informed choice prior to your purchase.

If you don’t have a local club, get a copy of Terrence Dickenson’s “Nightwatch”. He walks you through the basic process of selecting the telescope that best suits your needs.

For a decent on line site that can walk you through some of the process, Orion telescopes is mostly good bet.

One of the main things is to take your time. Learning visual astronomy can be daunting. If it is possible, do join your local club. We all started from the same basic place and having someone walk you through the process does help.

There is no one scope that is “better” than another —except for the junk scopes out there which are all just a waste of money. Never, ever buy from Walmart, Costco, Target, or any other discount store like that. Junk scopes are flooded into the market from those stores. You will be buying nothing but bad optics and plastic.

If you are new at this, then stay away from anything used from any site. If you don’t know what you are buying and who you are buying from you will most likely be getting someone else’s headache—with no warranty either. Buyer beware you know. Some great deals on used equipment, by people who know how to use and take care of scopes, are out there but if you don’t know what you are doing, you might be spending a lot of money on junk.
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I recomend:

Orion is the very best for value and for customer service too. I have 2 of their scopes and I will only buy from them from now on. My first scope was a manual controlled scope and I am very glad that it was because it forced me to learn where things are in the night skies. Go-To type scopes can be frustrating to use. If you do not have them aligned exactly perfect, they do not find the targets. If you are a beginner, you will be frustrated unless you spring for a GPS Go-To. An object locator is just that—it will locate objects for you (must be aligned first) but an object locator is not a tracking motor. It will not keep the scope on the target.

The Orion site has some excellent diagrams and explanations of all types of scopes and mounts.

Things to consider are size–can the user lift and transport the scope to the viewing site easily? Does it fit in your car? If not, then it will gather dust in a closet. I recomend a carrying case too so it is protected in storage and transport. Can the viewer reach all the knobs and buttons? I have a long tube large manual refractor and it is very dificult for me to reach the knobs when I am pointed to Zenith. I am not a tall person.

Take your time in making your decision.

+++ I would like to suggest that you join a local astronomy club or astronomical society BEFORE you spend your money on a scope. There are many different kinds of scopes and what is perfect for one person is not perfect for another. Everyone has their own set of eyeballs and no two are the same. If you join a club, you can attend a few of their star parties and try out members scopes to see what works best for YOU, before you buy a scope. The members can also help you when you get your scope and show you how to get the most out of your new scope as well as to help teach you where the treasures in the sky are located. Most clubs have loaner scopes and extensive libraries that you can gather more information from too. Most clubs will have monthly membership meetings with informative presentations given by members and by guest speakers. You can really learn a lot from these clubs and an added plus is all the great new freinds you make there too.

Some people will suggest that you purchase binnoculars. Not a bad idea but dont buy anything less than 10×50 and you must have a tripod too or you will not be happy with your astronomical views because they will be too shakey from your movements. Personally, I prefer a scope to binos because if binoculars are not aligned properly at the factory, then you get double images and distortions that cant be fixed. Most of the cheaper binoculars are not properly aligned. That is not as important for terrestial viewing but it is a killer for astronomical viewing. Binos can also be bumped out of alignment and become useless for astronomy.

When you buy go Orion and you wont be disappointed. Don’t try to learn everything all at once or you will be overwhelmed and discouraged. Patience is the key to Astronomy.

You will need a good star chart program too.
This is great freeware that you can download. Tell it where you are and it will tell you what you see. Ask it where something is and it will show you.

I wish you all the best! Enjoy!