Honestly, the choice in BC is mostly personal. Pretty much any of the BC's currently on the market will do nicely for 90% of all diving, some better than others. You will get a lot of hype on many BCs and great reviews on almost any BC if you wait long enough. A better approach is to first decide what the main function of the BC will be- a light weight BC for travel or a heavy duty rig that needs to support steel doubles. Once you figure out what its job is then find models that meet your criteria....and contrary to what some will tell you, no one BC does it all well. Sure, you can press most any BC into any service but it may not do the job well. Once you determine its function, then decide what style you prefer. Each style has its strengths and weaknesses. The features that are most important to you should determine your choice.
As for cost, there are plenty of BCs on the market that do a very nice job for a lot less than $500, even from a LDS. I personally prefer back inflates of a simpler design with a modest amount of lift, nothing more than 30 lbs, less is better for travel. I personally dive a Zeagle Scout, a stripped down travel BC that weighs in at 4 lbs. I have been diving it for about 5 years as pretty much my primary BC and it shows no signs of excessive wear, the current cost of one is in the $250 range, less than 1/2 of the prices you are seeing (most LDSs don't like to sell them -too little profit ). Recently I have purchased a Zeagle Tec Express, with a couple of added D rings and 25 lb bladder, it weighs in at less than 4 lbs and packs very flat. It may well become my travel BC of choice due to weight and how it packs, current price is in the $250 range plus a few D rings if you want them. There are other examples of lightweight, small packing BCs for well under $500, these are just a couple I am familiar with. Shop around some, you can find plenty of good BCs for a lot less than $500.
