Hi Sam. I actually work at a vacuum and sewing store so I have a little experience with this type of question. I would suggest looking at the brother or babylock machines. I know that they are really the same machines, brother has Disney Designs and Babylock has Nancy Zieman and other exclusive designs. Look for a machine that has the Embroidery Edit feature on the screen of the machine. This will allow you to make changes on the screen of the machine, example size, rotation, it will also allow you to combine designs on the screen and see the layout.
It is always my suggestion that you buy your machine at a local store and not on-line. The store I work at will help all customers no matter where they purchased their machines, but not all stores are like that. Most stores will only help "their" customers and yes sometimes you will need help.
If you are looking for a good all around embroidery software I like Embrilliance Essentials. The great thing about this software is that it works for both Mac & PC. It doesn't digitize but it allows for editing designs, combining designs, remove underlay, sizing (changes stitch count too) and a lot more.
I hope that this helps.
Jim

Thanks for the tip. I did read a lot of good things about Brother and I'm leaning towards one of their machines

I will definitely go to a local store but I wanted to narrow the choices a little before getting overwhelmed by a salesperson :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Brother PE770 embroidery machine review

Curious. Did you purchase your PE770? IF so... from a dealer or online? I see some great prices online for that machine. I have a combo sewing/embroidery machine and now wish I had a solo embroidery-only machine so I could have more than one project going on at a time. I also use Embrilliance Essentials software and a MacBook Pro. Jeanie