It's a little higher than $800, but if you're willing to go that high, I'd just jump on a Canon Digital Rebel, that's the best you can get
OR are you looking for something smaller and simpler ?? If that's the case, get a Sony CyberShot DSC-WI, it's only $349.
If you want a great site to compare cameras, definately check out
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com
The site has rankings of their top picks here -
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/ratings.php
I LOVE that site because they rate every single aspect of each camera. That's what I used to make my decision on the camera that I bought.