iiyama Vision Master Pro 400 17" CRT, lasted me years - wish they still made them but at 27"+ widescreen, would easily buy one.
First TFT I bought - Viewsonic VP191 19", 1280 x 1024, P-MVA panel was expensive at the time £400.
Bought a Dell 2407 24", cost about £400, the colours seemed crap, probally didn't have it calibrated properly, had that about two years.
My NEC 24WMGX3 24" MVA TFT, cost £400, it's an amazing screen, great colours, decent response time, it's over 3 years old now, will keep it till it goes wrong, then will buy the best screen I can afford.