Classical Guitar

I play an Almansa brand classical, and its a pretty great instrument for not that much money. I got mine, including the soft case, for around $300 Canadian, which is a little less than that in US dollars. You can get one for a little cheaper than that too.
 
I have a La Patrie Concert. It has a solid cedar top and mahogany back and sides. It has a really nice warm tone. I love it.

It's slightly more than your budget, but you could probably find a used one for a good price. Good luck.
 
I highly recommend a La Patrie classical guitar. They are made up in Canada and sound as good as classicals costing 2-3 times as much. I have their basic Etude model without electronics, but they have some models that have pickups/electronic as well. The La Patrie guitars just have an overall feel of quality compared to many Chinese imports, AND they sound awesome. My Etude came with a solid cedar top and only cost $240 if my memory serves me correctly. I had a Chinese Washburn solid top classical that was similarly priced for a while and it was a joke compared to the La Patrie. Check out Musicians Friend and Elderly Instruments. I think they both carry La Patrie.
 
I have a Walden classical, and I absolutely love it. Not many store carry them (kind of a new company I believe) but they really do sound beautiful for their price.
 
I you want to buy something guaranteed to make you happy, then go for Yamaha. They have reasonably-priced solid-topped classical guitars (the CG-111, for example), and the quality is consistently good. I have been around musical instruments from the age of 10, and no matter what kind of instrument it has been (pianos, guitars, drums, brass, woodwind), I have never even seen a bad Yamaha. I currently own two Yamaha instruments, and am thinking of a third.
 
F.Sor has a great collection of studies and Etudes. Try composers like Guiliani and Carulli. Jason Waldron has a great series of Popular classics for the guitar with very simple but effective transcriptions. But if you find Recuerdos easy I recommend anything by Albeniz
 
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