I see that someone above recommended the Specialized Sirrus, and I'd like to throw in a recommendation for the Specialized Crosstrail as well. I'm a bit biased, but I truly love mine. The main difference between the Sirrus and Crosstrail is that the Sirrus is on the road bike side of the hybrid fence with a rigid fork and more road oriented tires, while the Crosstrail is more to the off-road side with front suspension (with lockout) and more aggressive tires. Both come in a wide variety of equipment levels and even the top models will fit in your price range.