Okay I decided to help make the choice easier for you, and separated them into categories:

1-Buy a craplet (crap tablet knockoff), these are now at acceptable quality with acceptable features close to a hundred dollars.
Eg, Ainol Novo7 Crystal (under $140)

2-Buy a "freemium" tablet. One that's about comparable to a craplet but from a name brand source.
Eg, Nexus 7 ($200 - 250)
Eg, Kindle Fire HD ($199)

3-Buy a used high-end specced Android tablet that was release "last gen" with community support.
Eg, ASUS Transformer Prime for (<$300)

4-Buy an enthusiasts tablet. Something that's better than the alternatives when it comes down to a select set of features.
Eg, RIM PlayBook
Eg, Vivaldi Linux Tablet

5-Buy a used, cheap, 32GB Wifi iPad2.
Is the best tablet out there, with decent features.

6-Or splurge big on the new iPad. It comes with limitations to hardware, price and software but its ahead of the curve.... and without a doubt the best tablet there is.

-I wouldn't recommend WinRT tablets. Not only are they not out yet, the softwares been shown to be buggy, and limited. Don't touch until 1-2 years when it matures.

7-If anything look for a Win8PRO tablet or convertable. Sure enough, your losing an hour charge everyday but the speed improvements, stability and backwards compatibility makes up for it. Pricey, but it makes sense since its supposed to replace your laptop/desktop (which an iPad cannot accomplish yet).

*Wildcard*
Get a "large" smartphone and a "small" laptop, no room for tablets.
Eg/ Galaxy NOTE 2 + ASUS Transformer Book 11in <<- Recommended!