I went through the same process. I have a vintage HP Laserjet 2100 for B&W work, and it's excellent.
After a series of Epson bubblejet devices, all of which cost more per annum in ink than the cost of a new machine, and all of which clogged their jets if left unused for more than a few days...
... I bought a Canon Pixma. It has a whole bandolier of ink cartridges (well, five of them), but the "aftermarket" ones are about £3 a pop and last many months at my usage. They rarely clog, and the print quality is excellent.
The only drawbacks are:
1. The drivers are about 50MB, so you need plenty of disk space;
2. It won't work with Linux. There are "cobbled" drivers, but the quality is awful.
If I were buying another printer now, it would be a Pixma. The latest model looks a lot "cheaper" than mine, but a friend who has one is very happy with it.