First of all (since you mentioned it), keep in mind that magnification is
the last thing you need to look for in a telescope. Many cheepo department store telescopes will hype insane magnifications (300X +), but in practice, lower magnifications are better. First, as you increase magnification, the image will become dimmer, grainier, and blurrier. Second, many deep-sky objects, like star clusters and nebulae, are actually quite large, and will not fit into a single field-of-view at high magnifications. I have a Celestron Ultima 11 (Schmidt-Cassegrain, 11 inch aperture, 2.8 meter focal length), but I often use my 40mm or 50mm wide-field Plossl eyepieces, giving ~56X - 70X magnification. Magnification = focal length of the telescope divided by focal width of the eyepiece, so you can buy a few eyepieces to cover the magnification ranges you desire.
Thus, the two most important parts of a telescope are the optics and support/mount. The larger the aperture (opening) of the telescope, the better....a larger aperture lets in more light, and makes the image sharper and brighter. Quality optics are also key. The mount is of significant importance as well (something cheaper telescopes often implement poorly), since you want a stable image.
The two best consumer telescope manufacturers are
Meade and
Celestron. Look around in their product catalogues....though you might be hard-pressed to find a variety of computer controlled telescope for around $400. Your best bet is probably a Newtonian/Equatorial reflector, with around a 4 inch - 5 inch apeture. Astronomics has the Celestron 4.5"
NextStar 114 and
NexStar 114GT for $300 and $440, respectively. IIRC, the comparable Meade model is the 6"
LXD55 for $600...it costs more, but has a larger aperture and faster optics (f/5 vs. f/9).
edit: hehe, I'm too slow
