A good question to ask yourself in the beginning is if you want a German style knife or a Japanese style knife. If you have an Amazon account, it’s easy to try both and return the one you don’t like.
For Japanese style, MAC is the brand I like. This knife is ridiculous:
https://www.amazon.com/Mac-Knife-Professional-Hollow-8-Inch/dp/B000N5H2XU
In the upper end of what you were willing to spend, but there is no reason why this won’t last you for the rest of your life. There’s a slightly higher chance of chipping it supposedly because Japanese steeper is thinner (and sharper) but I’m super clumsy and it’s never happened to me.
I also do have a German style knife but it was a gift. The company is called Baron Cutlery. They are from NJ and they don’t even have a functioning website (just Instagram). I absolutely love the knife I have though. I sharpen it once like a year and I’m good.
But something bigger brand would be the classic Wusthof. Serious Eats loves this knife:
Amazon.com
WWW.AMAZON.COM
You’ll also want to get a sharpening stone and a honing steel rod. The sharpening stone is literally there to use once a year or every 9 months. The honing steel rod is you can use each time you cut stuff and you’ll notice a difference with a honed knife.