Well, the choices are bewildering, are they not? I confess I have a strong leaning toward Taylors, and a similar one away from Martins (you can PM me if you wish on the latter) --- but for midlevel guitars, I suggest taking a good look at the Larivees and the Breedlove Atlas line. If you like cutaways, you might also take a look at Wechters. OK OK I confess that Abe Wechter is a friend of mine, and though I do not own any Wechters (yet), both the Breedlove and Wechter import lines are well worth a look.

In general, don't buy it unless you have played it.....I mean that EXACT guitar. But I violated my own rules and bought a Breedlove Atlas jumbo (their Korean import) sight unseen last year, and it turned out to be a very solid axe , Fishman electronics built in, very good sounding, pub-resistant, and fairly easy to play. There are a coupla warts but not major.

I have also heard a Larivee which was an "off the rack" piece, which rivals my $3K Taylor limited edition in sound quality.

You should be able to get a very decent guitar once you get past the 500 buck range, and there are a lot of very good used ones out there for less. Pick it up, play it. You never can tell when you will fall in love.

Enjoy your exploration!
Rutger