I'm mostly fine with whatever. I usually wear my mountain bike shorts (which have a chamois liner) for the commute because I'm not brave enough to turn up at work in spandex. I have one of the $15 nashbar under liners. They're ok actually, someone I'll wear those under jeans but the moisture ends up in the jeans, so...
I do now own 3 pairs of regular spandex/polyester shorts with chamois. I got each one for ~$35 on nashbar, three different brands just to try and see what I like. These are an investment for weekend riding though.
I usually do my own laundry for bike stuff every 2-4 rides. I put it on the "delicate" or "handwash" setting, and it doesn't get really dirty anyway. It line dries easily too so it's really fast.