Like all firearms, it mostly depends on the intended use. Informal plinking, casual varmenting, etc. there are a lot of adequate rifles out there. Serious target shooting, competition, or law enforcement may require one on the upper end of the price range.
For my informal shooting I have an Olympic Arms PCR 5 AR-15 clone. 16' barrel, carry handle upper, and A2 style stock and sights. Don't know what they sell for now, but I got mine new with a lifetiime warrantee for around $800 five years ago. I have had no problems with it, and am completely satified. The PCR 5 and other Olympics have milled receivers, but the do sell a couple models with a stamped receiver. Don't know if I would want one of those. Look around, see what fits your needs, and I'm sure you will be happy with whatever you get.

 

Remington is handling the military side of things. Bushmaster is handling the civilian side.

If I was buying a new 5.56 rifle today it would be a Sig 556. Maybe an FN SCAR.

 

Having been selected by SOCOM as the special forces rifle, the SCAR has its foot in the door to replace the M4! This is where the future of rifle design is headed.....

By simply changing the barrel and bolt, you can convert to 6.5mm (my choice to replace the anemic 5.56mm), 6.8mm, 7.62X39mm, or the battle rifle caliber 7.62X51mm (.308 Win)! The ACR is also easily convertable to the shorter cartridges, but unfortunately not the longer 7.62X51mm. If they insist on sticking with the anemic 5.56mm, the squad designated marksmen need to have a 7.62X51mm.

File:1stbat75thregSCAR.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The question is, how many guys who think $2/quart oil is expensive, are going to be willing to spend $2,000 for these rifles?

 

I'd love to have one the SCAR's, but the woman I sleep with is gonna point over to the too full gun safe and say no.

 

I hope Remington will keep the price reasonable on the ACR!

 

Don't know what the price is, but piston driven systems tend to be spendy. i just hope it is a reliable gas piston, have heard some are not so much but don't have one personally.

 

Might want to check out some of these too.Comes in many calibers.
5.56,.308,338 Lapua Mag and there are/were .243 calibers they used to have and will be putting them back on line again.
I have the AR10 in 7.62x51 and am absolutely loving the accuracy.
http://www.armalite.com/

 

Anything milspec and shoot it a lot the get any bugs out of it. Keep it clean and practice a lot. Go to ar15.com and read all you can. Personally the 5.56 (223) will be the least expensive to shoot. I like my .50 beowulf.

 

ive been told armalite and dpms are among the top best

 

There are pro's and con's to the new piston system ar's, as well as the DI system. I would do some research at AR15.Com, as this is probably the best resource for ar info. You also need to figure out what your main use of the rifle will be, as this can affect what rifle you go with (barrel twist rate, length, stock, forearm, and trigger).

Also, you might want to check out Rock River Arms. They have one of the best production reputations for an off the shelf rifle. Check out this company along with Spikes Tactical, JP Enterprises, and Wilson Combat, and Knights Armament Company for some real eye candy.