Whenever I go into Target I take a swing past the bike rack and check out what's there. Almost every time I find at least a couple bikes that look decent, and seem like very rideable well thought out bikes. There are also a whole host of junked up bikes as well -- dual suspension bricks for $129.99, that sort of thing.

One thing I always look closely at is the brakes. If they are decent brakes, they'll be relatively easy to adjust and won't need constant attention. On some of the crappier ones, the adjustment screws seems to either do nothing, or very easily strip out and then can't be adjusted at all.

As always, the best bike is the one you will get out and ride - not make excuses not to ride. Borobike's analogy to cameras is interesting. I used to be a photojournalist, toting around umpteen pounds of gear all day long. That was many years ago, and now I won't even bring myself to buy a DSLR. Why? Because I know I will never ever want to carry it with me in the places (biking, skiing, hiking) where I'll want a camera. So I take a decent higher end point/shoot and I get some nice photos that I wouldn't ever get if I had a DSLR sitting on the shelf at home.