I've had very decent results with a DW735 and Ridgid JP601, which all in you would have for $1,200 today. I was fortunate in that I got them both on clearance for about $200 each. It is frustrating being limited to 6" boards, but a sled would be an alternative for that. You don't need $10,000 to get good results.
+1. And you can look on craigslist, I've gotten some good stuff there pretty cheap (Stanley #8 for $10, fantastic instance of this tool, I wouldn't sell it for $500. Delta 8 inch jointer, the parallelogram one, for $900).
For table saws, the old craftsmen that look like this:
