Macs are quite expensive. It all depends on what you want:
-Screen size
-Battery
-Weight
-Power
I personally tend to gravitate towards the 17" screen i7 processor monsters, but that's not what you're looking for.
As a matter of fact, I've had good experiences with HP. Of the two laptops and one desktop in my household, one of the laptops and the desktop is an HP and they're better than the Dell laptop by far.
I'd look into Asus or Samsung. Another thing to keep in mind is this: if you're only going to use the laptop for minor web surfing, music, note taking, light tasks like that, maybe an android table should be considered. Keep in mind the main points of a tablet:
-Incredibly portable and lightweight
-Comfortable to use, no heat/noise like a laptop
-Much less power and capabilities
-About the same price as a laptop
-Let's face it, they're just more fun
Thus ending my $0.02
