It would help if you could give us some idea of your upper price limit. However, many people have had very good luck with the Kenmore badged Janome machines from Sears, and they provide some of the best value for money in current machines.

However, if you are only going to be doing basic sewing - straight stitching with a little bit of zig zag, you might be better off looking for a vintage machine. Modern Singers tend not to get very good reviews, but the 201's, 301's and 401's are highly thought of and can be picked up very reasonably. These older machines do a great job of handling heavier fabrics and are very solidly made. You can probably find a 158 series Kenmore for as little as $25, and these are also very good machines. A lot depends on whether or not you would be comfortable figuring out the machine on your own.

I happen to love the older, German-made Pfaffs with the IDT feature, and you might be able to find a good deal on a used one at a dealer or on Craigslist. The IDT really helps to move the top and bottom layers of fabric evenly.

Another nice thing about the older machines is that you can usually get back what you paid for them if you ever decide to upgrade for more features later on.

a salesman told my Mother to ask any dealer/rep. if the machine she's interested in "...would be recommended for a school Home Ec. classroom." This will tell you how durable the machine is and how finicky it is.