I had the same problem. I had a new set of Sun CR18 32hs -in the end I bought a Sun CR18 36h rim from Harris Cyclery (I live close by) at about $30. Since I was lacing up the rims for disc brakes, I had to buy new disc hubs and relaced them myself. Adding in the cost of spokes and the new Shimano Deore 36h disc rear hub it came to about $80-$90. Of course I had a good 32h front rim already, but I'd guess it would have cost another $70 as well if I had to buy all the pieces. If you can lace your own rims my guess is that you could build a non-disc set with decent rims for about $150 or even less. Usually you see something on sale somewhere as well (e.g. I bought a front disc hub for $20 including shipping on ebay).

Edit: I should have added that I use the 36h for rear, a 32h for front.