Last month, thanks to some overtime pay at work, I bought a Peavey Classic 30 on clearance for $300 and a Hughes and Kettner Statesman 40w Quad EL-84 for $769.
They're both great amphs, but I think the Peavey is the better deal for the money. The H&K does sound better to me, but for the difference in price, I doubt if anyone in the audience would notice.