Hey,
I free ride a lot and do a lot of urban stuff as well. I'm riding a norco hardtail but am looking for a FS (which i'm assuming your looking for). I'd take a look at the Speicalized Big hit. I heard a lot of good things about them and if you get the low end you should still have some money left to upgrade some stuff (it still comes with some decient componets). Since i'm Canadian i'm going to stick by my Norco's. They make some great bikes for free ride. Check out the Atomic it'll be around your price range and has some really good componets (like hayes 8" HYDROS).