Questions about countertops

[tedferret]

It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm back.

Things have been going rather well since the first house (where Murphy's law proved itself and I lost a boatload). Since then I've done two houses and made about 90k on them in the last 9 months.

My real question is about countertops. I've been putting granite in and paying somewhere around 60 a sq. ft. for the good stuff. Recently I've been thinking of switching to a different top, but I'm really not familiar enough with any of them to make a well thought out decision.

About the house- 1900 sq. ft, hardwood floors, nice brand new open kithen. ARV is 245-259k depending on fixtures, finishes, etc. I bought it for 122k and have put 50k in so far. I only have 10k left in the budget for appliances, 800 sq. ft. of harwood, coutnertops, paint and electrical fixtures.

I don't want to spend 2k on granite, but I want something comperable for a lot less. Any thoughts on silestone, granite alternatives, granite tile, or other things I don't know about?

Thanks as always.