I just bought a Shun Classic 11-pc set from Bed Bath and Beyond. The website lists it at $570, the B&M store listed at $463. YMMV. With a 20% coupon and 8.75% tax, I paid $403 OTD. No steak knives included, but these knives were the best I've used.
I did a bunch of research, and if aesthetics aren't a concern for you and you want the most bang for your buck, look into Forschner. I was using these before and they are pretty good. I've been treating mine like hell, which is why I bought the Shuns (Use the Forschners for butchering whole chickens, Shuns for everything else.) I can't speak much for other German brands because I like the concept of cladded Japanese knives better.
Globals might be slightly cheaper than Shun classics, but maybe by 5% or so. The aesthetics/ergonomics are a love/hate kind of thing, and the cutting metal is comparable to Shun Classic. These are knives you can try out in a store to get a feel for them. Shun also sells other higher end lines. Elites use a harder steel that's able to take and maintain a sharper edge for longer, and Pro/Pro2 uses classic-level steel with a single bevel.
If you want that level of sharpness for a lower price, you'll have to order blindly from something like
www.japanesechefsknife.com or other vendors. Tojiro, I believe, is one of the best bang for your buck japanese style manufacturers. Their DP line is what you'd want to consider.
There's pretty good reading about cutlery on
www.cookingforengineers.com