Originally Posted by gfunkdave

Back when I was investigating an espresso machine (which I never wound up buying), the consensus on coffeegeek.com seemed to coalesce around the Rancilio Silvia as the best bang-for-your-buck semiautomatic machine.

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtobuyanespressomachine

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/rancilio_silvia