Budget amps that can hold their own.

I am working on a system and am building it from the source up. Alredy I have a Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and am working on the Bottlehead Foreplay pre-amp. Now it is time for an amp. I am looking for somthing under $500, but I do not know where to begin. When looking in the under 1k range, a lot of big names put out consumer crap that is not worth the plastic it is made of. What are some decent low budget amps that are worth looking at?

Thanks so much
Eric Baer