Anything from Declaration if you are lucky enough to secure it, next to that the Simpson CH2 SiLVERTiP is worthwhile - The Simpsons Manchurian hair I regret to say is middle of the road, I have 3 of them now and they are nothing to write home about. The SiLVERTiP hair however stands alone, it's exceptional and no other brush maker comes close - if they do a CH3 in SiLVERTiP I will pay whatever the cost, it simply is that good. If you see a CH2 and want something extraordinary, grab one.
Paladin does a nice handle, and I do like their brushes. At the end of the day their knots are good, but not great. I have around 12 of them now and it's a brush I do like, but their hair source could use a little fine tuning. I will however buy more of them as they are a company that is true to the artisan ideal, they are nice folks.
Declaration B8 is also superb as are most of their batches.
Frankly, if you want a luxury experience you will pay for it, when it comes to badger brushes 80%90% of brushmakers or more use complete rubbish when it comes to the knots. But if you want something of high quality, that will last for years and is hand made by an artisan then look to paying $190 - $500 - it will be money well spent, in many cases you will be buying an heirloom piece that will last for years and years given daily use.
I own around 45 'high end' brushes, so this is where I'm coming from
