[Eliot Ness]

Another vote for Fluke.... you'll pay more but you know you have a quality and accurate DVM that will probably outlast you.  We used Flukes at work and occasionally I'd hear where someone lost or misplaced one but never saw or heard of one having having issues and some of the guys were pretty hard on them.

The models I'm most familiar with are the 87 and 77.  The 77 I bought new off eBay because I wanted the same dependability on my work bench as I had at work and it hasn't disappointed. 

The other Fluke that not many people know about is the 27/FM that was used by the military and those things are built like tanks.  You can still find them on eBay but you have to look closely for one that wasn't beat to death.  I bought one several years ago for a spare (like I needed another meter) that was in great condition with the case, instructions, and a HV probe.  They are good meters if you can still find a nice one:

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/view...8&t=167123

I will say that the meter Bob (Klondike98) mentioned sounds nice. There have to be many meters like his that aren't quite Flukes but are much better than the Harbor Freight $5 meters.