I feel strongly that the Shimano Symetry is the best bang for your buck out there now. They are smooth as silk, virtually eliminate line twist, and have incredibly long service lives. You can also close the bail with the crank with no worry of it breaking like most reels do.
I have five of them in my lineup, and I feel they are worth every cent of the $100 they ask for them.
I have a 15 year old Symetry that has seen more use than 5 average fishermen would put on all their reels in a lifetime. It still functions perfectly. It was getting just a tad loose and ugly so I handed it down to my oldest boy. I bet he still gets a bunch of service from it.
I think the models from 5 years ago were pretty and the new ones are a bit ug, but they fish all the same. I bought a 3000 last spring, it is a great reel.
http://www.fishusa.com/Shimano-Symetre-FJ-Spinning-Reels_p.html