I agree with the folks who recommend Seagull guitars; great value. They're made by La Si Do Music who also make Godin, Simon & Patrick and Norman guitars. I have a spruce and rosewood Norman dreadnought which is great for flatpicking but just doesn't have the right balance for fingerpicking. My other guitar is Martin 000-18 and I play it almost exclusively now. I picked it up used for around $1,000 (Canadian) so it would be well within your price range. The 000 models have a 24.9" scale length rather than the more common 25.4". You lose a bit of volume or "punch" but it has a nice light feel to it. But as the others have said: "Play lot's of guitars, find one you love and get it"