Get an Apple laptop, they are genuinely better than the windows ones. As apple control the hardware and software completely I'm convinced they optimise them really well. I got a macbook 2 years ago and haven't looked back... I have windows (dell) work laptops and had HP ones in the past and although obviously cheaper they were also a lot crapper.

Failing that get a Sony.

If you're a geek and spend a lot of time on it, it's worth the extra for the good brand and quality.

If you just wanna go for cheapest then get a Dell - lots of people bash them but they're good for what they are.