As everyone has already said, you really can't go wrong with a Weller. Like having a quality power supply, paying a little extra to get a good quality iron will pay off down the road. Also, there's no shame in picking up a used iron off of ebay. You can find several really nice adjustable Weller irons, many come with spare tips from $50-$100.
I wouldn't really recommend this for a beginner, but since we're on the subject of soldering irons. Several years ago I was in need of a hot air smd rework station, being low on money I decided to gamble on a Chinese brand I'd never heard of. For $160 I picked up an Aoyue 968++ rework station, and wow, it ended up being money well spent. It comes with an adjustable 70w pencil style iron, and an adjustable hot air reflow gun (great for swapping out smd leds or for heat shrink). I've been using it daily for the past 6 years and it's still going strong (I'm still on the original heat element too). I don't normally recommend Chinese soldering equipment, but the Aoyue brand has done alright by me.
One last thing, a quick tip. If you want to extend the life out of your soldering tip, when you're done for the day, and before you shut down your iron, always leave a small glob of solder on the tip. This will help protect the tip from oxidizing. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to work with an iron that won't take solder.