rhm

I wouldn't worry about the brand so much as the country of origin. England is good. Austria is good. Anywhere in Europe is probably good. The basic differences between a Raleigh Sports and some of the cheaper offerings from Raleigh (sold under a multitude of names) are
--cheaper saddle: mattress rather than leather. You can fix this.
--cheaper rims. Dunlop EA3 rims rather than Raleigh pattern rims. The Dunlops are lighter and narrower and easier to true, so in many ways better.
--fewer doodads brazed onto the frame. Do you really need a pump peg?
--in some cases, the gear cable runs inside a housing all the way to a fulcrum on the chain stay, rather than over a pulley wheel somewhere. This is not so good. But again, you can fix this.

American bikes tend to be heavier, though often well made and well chromed. There's really nothing wrong with a Schwinn Breeze or a Ross Eurosport or the like. The lower end ones can be pretty cheesy.

Japanese ones vary so much that I can't say much about them. I've seen very nice ones, and I've seen horrid cheap ones. Sold for the American market, they may imitate English ones (cottered crank, thicker frame tubes), or imitate American ones (Ashtabula crank, thinner tubes). I'd say if going Japanese, get one that's as English as possible. A Japanese bike trying to look like an American one is the worst of both worlds.