This is the touring board and all touring bikes are up to a certain level of quality, so you're not going to get any recommendations under $700 here.

Lots of good things are said about the Novara Randonee as being a nice bike for the money. Some say it's a little on the sporty side for a touring bike, but if this is your everything-bike, sounds spot-on.

You can finagle %20 off from REI until the end of March which brings this from the middle of pack price-wise to the bottom of the pack.