In terms of pricing, you should probably look at Dell, since they have some crazy sales sometimes allowing you to get a $2000 plus lappy for liek $1200. To do this, you have to keep a close eye on them and be PATIENT. Don't jump on the first decent deal you see. Don't jump on a deal just because they say $1000 OFF!!!! (because they might have just raised their original price by $500, so in reality it's $500 off). Watch every deal they offer for a month or so, figure out their pattern, then wait for and pounce on the first good deal you see after that.
Caveat: research their reliability. Laptops in general seem to break down more easily. I guess it's because they get tossed around all the time. My IBM A31 is on it's third mobo in three years, and my friend's identical laptop went through four mobos in two years, and the computer service center at our school is filled with A31s waiting for new mobos.
Maybe it's just the A31s being crappy, I don't know, but try to find out as much as you can about the quality of the laptop, since they are much harder to repair than desktops when broken.