I purchased a programmable Crock-Pot slow cooker from Costco for under $50, you can set the time in half hour increments and when it's done it will automatically shift to warm. It's got a removable crock and pop out handles on the whole unit plus the cord stores inside the body. I've been very happy with it. Here's a link to a similar one from Amazon.

Americas Test Kitchen tested the actual Crock-Pot brand to be the best of the slow cookers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crock-Pot

So far as we could tell, all modern slow cookers cook at too high a temperature, even on "low". Since we are geeks, we ended up controlling a fairly basic slow cooker with a separate PID controller that lets us set the exact temperature we want. The benefit of this is that we can use the exact same setup for sous-vide cooking. All that said, I'm sure most people would rather just live with a too-hot slow cooker...

Here is a link that might be useful: PID controller

I have a hamilton beach one called "stay or go" I paid about 30 for it and really like it. Looks just like this one except white

Here is a link that might be useful: crock pot

I got a hamilton beach stay or go - it was on the larger side because one of the things I regularly make in it is barbeque and it needed to hold a 3 or 4 lb pork loin. It is great - easily programmable and switches to warm once it is cooked so you can come home and have dinner on the table in minutes. . .

Unlike my old crock pot branded one, it doesn't boil everything :). I think I paid around 60.00 from amazon for it.

I think the programmable helps make up for the too hot--you still get slow cooked goodness with too hot, but in only four to five hours rather than eight or ten, when the whole point was to have it cook while you're at work or overnight.

I don't like mine, which is newer style and too big. I'm probably going to give it away when I get around to it. From being too big, it seems to really need to be stirred, which isn't the point at all. Meantime, I've done a lot of cooking in my lovely new oven at 250 degrees and that works great for a lot of the larger things I used the crock pot for in the old kitchen, to varying success. My oven has lower settings too, as does my warming drawer.

My suggestion is to get one that's just big enough for better results, unless you're using it for large cuts.