I would like to spend around 350-450. I don't want anything amazing. But i definitely want the best i can get for my money. I'm mostly just using it to video tape me and my friends doing funny stuff.
Look for a camcorder that has a hard drive instead of tapes or DVD. This will open up your options when storing footage on other media. It helps that you are not using proprietary stuff. Look at JVC Everio or Canons.