I had a pair of Phillips (TRU BASS) earbud headphones that had amazing sound and was priced around $30. They had a funky cord that I didn't like and then my dog chewed them up. So now I'm in the marker for another set. What about the brand Skullcandy? BTW, Sony is a good choice!
I have these Sony headphones and love them http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/headphone/product.cfm?PD=32241&KM=MDR-EX500SL They make another model right in your price range too http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/headphone/product.cfm?PD=32243&KM=MDR-EX300SL Dont think these have been released in the U.S. yet, I got mine off of ebay for a good price.
you can get shure earbuds for under the $100 mark, they sound cherry. I have some skullcandy buds that I'm sure I paid no more than $30 for, and they sound really nice for the price. nice highs and rich bass. they also come with different sizes of eartips. I consider eartips essential for earbuds. without tips that properly fit your ear, you'll lose tons of sound quality with buds. in short, if you don't mind blowing your budget by $15-25, go for shure. otherwise, skullcandy sound very decent and can be found anywhere.
I had some sony earbuds that I liked until I lost one of the large ear tips. They came w/ 3 sizes, so I can use the medium, but they don't seal as well and the bass suffers for it. Are there any buds out there that the tips stay secure?
I bought a pair of shures a year or two ago for around 150-170 dollars. They seal up your ear so tight that if a bomb went off behind you, you would never hear it. For me it was to the point of discomfort, they gave me a headache wearing them any longer than 30 minutes. The sound was very very impressive in the highs and mids, just the lows were not up to par with the other ranges. I ended up returning them and got something cheaper (some 80$ sonys from best buy).
I have these and love them http://www.amazon.com/JBuds-Hi-Fi-Noise ... 587&sr=8-2 i bought the hi fi set as a replacement pair and don't like them as much though. i'll be switching back to the cheapo pair.
Sennheiser fan here as well. These are the ones I have (and love): http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX-300 ... 42&sr=8-10