I've had nothing but good experiences with knives made by Spyderco. Very good quality for the price. Very high "coolness factor" in my book. Comumbia River Knife and Tool is good for the money, as long as you check out the knife before you purchase it. Some are put together much better than others. I'd also recommend knives by Kershaw and Benchmade. Smith & Wesson knives are alright, and cheap if you get them at Big-5. Again, check out the knife before you buy it, some are put together rather well, some are pieces of shit.
I just checked the spyderco site at
www.spyderco.com and they've got some pretty good deals on small folders in the "specials" section.