I was in the exact same boat up until 3 weeks ago and after MUCH research, I bought the Casio WK-1300. This keyboard has 73 full size keys, has MIDI in/out, 4 built~in speakers, and lets you choose between regular or "touch sensitive" keys. There's just waaay too much to list on what this thing has and can do, including the most realistic sounding percussion instruments and a "grand piano" setting that sounds so REAL, if you closed your eyes you can't ell the difference. The strings are unbelievable and it has voice "do's" and "ahh's" that sound like real voices. I haggled with the salesman at Sam Ash and picked up this board for $275... You should be able to get one for under $300.. no problem. I played a lot of keyboards in the past several months, this one was definitely the best for that price range.