Saddle pricing is really subjective to how yr butt respond to the curvature of the saddle versus how much ur paying for the "pain". Unfortunately everyone's butt anatomy is different so it u can find a sample saddle to try for a week, then it's great. If not then it might be an expensive trial & error. I've had lots of friends using brooks & yes, they all seem to hv nice things to say. Initially all butts will hurt when you're new to Cycling no matter what saddle u use. I'd suggest after buying a saddle, that u tahan & use it for at least 2 months to properly judge whether a saddle fits u.