Hi mattress-boi and welcome to the Mattress Underground 
Congrats on your post college move and getting your first ‘new’ mattress! As someone who had a similar string of ‘hand me down’ mattresses during & post college, I can definitely relate!
It’s good that you found a Sealy you are comfortable on; although like many of the ‘big brands’ their lack of details on their components and layers can make it difficult to assess hire supportive and durable they may be. for such an important purchase, you don’t want to end up with a mattress that wears out prematurely, as this can leave ‘ridges’ and ‘valleys ‘ that can cause muscle pains and even alignment issues. In person testing, in your situation, is the best way to see how different mattress types feel.
The Sealy Etherial Gold Plush mattress has a soft knit fabric cover, ‘SealyComfort’ extra soft foam quilting later with SealyComfort extra soft foam comfort layers, a ‘CoreSupport’ center and Sealy ‘StablePlus’ pocketed coil innerspring. As all of these components are proprietary, it’s impossible to judge anything about the foams (thickness or density or composition) or innersprings (coil gauge, coil count) which means the mattress may be fine, and may last you some time, but it’s just impossible to assess.
Any mattress you decide on will be based on your Stats (height, BMI, sleeping position(s) and any underlying health concerns) and your PPP (posture & alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). You might want to take a look at the Mattress Shopping Tutorial to see how to find a great mattress outlet, as well as the Mattress Specifications You Need To Know and compare these to the Mattress Durability Guidelines to see how certain materials will last over time.
As to your questions…
What type of mattress should I look for that would be similar to that Sealy?
No one can tell you what type of mattress will be most comfortable for you, other than you. The Sealy is a memory foam hybrid; if that’s the type of bed you want, there should certainly be better options available to you within your budget.
Should I just go to Quality Sleep Shop and ask them or should I checkout some of the other online beds on this site? I see GhostBed has a 50% off sale with a mattress/base bundle so would it be better to just buy one of those without trying it?
Those are 2 great ideas! Quality Sleep Shop has been providing excellent sleep solutions for over 50 years, and as they manufacture their beds on site, they are able to offer them at affordable prices. GhostBed is another Trusted Member of the site, and they offer a variety of foam hybrid and latex hybrid mattresses; I believe that the MattressFirm and American Mattress locations in & around Chicago carry some if not all, the current GhostBed line, so you can try those out as well. The GhostBed Flex is similar to the Sealy and might be of interest. Also My Green Mattress is in La Grange, and Carrie’s a variety of organic and natural sleep solutions. Any of these Trusted Members will be able to assist you in finding a great new bed.
Is there another way to get the price down closer to the Sealy/adjustable base combo sale of $1500? I’m getting overwhelmed by the number of adjustable bases available.
Not sure if the GhostBed sale would bring it down to that area; and also the Sealy may be cheaper, but if the mattress doesn’t hold up, it might not be such a great ‘value’.
Adjustable bases are becoming more and more popular, and you’re right - there’s a lot to choose from! If you want Bluetooth enabled, app controlled, massage capable, usb ports, and all the other bells and whistles, they are out there. Of you could go for the basic that simply raises and lowers your head, trunk, and legs, for much less. It’s really your preference as far as what ‘extras’ you want of need, and your budget.
I would also caution on too much reliance on sales…the 2 most important criteria for mattresses are durability and suitability; while sales can bring the price more in line with budget, we advise against using that as your main criteria.
If you have any specific mattresses you are interested in, and give us your Stats, we can
comment on their support and durability for your sleep profile, and let us know how the search goes!
~ Basilio