> I've long subscribed to the philosophy that you should buy the cheapest tool you can find and use safely [...] Too much money is thrown away in the name of "buy once, cry once" only to discover that you don't need the capabilities offered by the top of the line options.

How about something in between these two extremes? You don't need to go "top of the line", but you can save yourself a lot of frustration if you spend a little more than the absolute minimum...