Hi RoxCo,
For your local choices I would go to …
http://www.shovlinmattress.com/ Ron is the owner here. They carry a range of mattresses including innersprings and they have much better quality and value in every price range than what you would find in a chain store. I would call them first to discuss your budget and ask him for his suggestions because they don’t list their prices on the site. They are also a member of this site.
dixiefoam I would talk with Mark here. They carry a range of all foam mattresses and hybrids that use high quality polyfoam (ranging from 1.8 lbs to 2.8 lbs) as well as latex (but it’s higher than your budget). They have very good quality and value.
Dreamfoam Bedding If you are comfortable ordering online without testing a mattress first … their Ultimate Dreams is a high quality latex/polyfoam hybrid and you can customize the latex to your choice of firmness level. Chuck is good at helping people make good choices. This is especially good value for a latex hybrid mattress but there are no refunds so make sure you put some thought into the choice of firmness level if you go in this direction. They are a manufacturing member of the site so if you do order from them make sure you tell them you are a member here so you will receive your free shredded latex pillow.
Post #13 here has an example but they didn’t post the final outcome. There are also several more detailed examples here.
Phoenix