Enthusiast

I just purchased a Bonavita Enthusiast 8 cup for $150 off of Amazon. I know your question is the best, but this is a great machine for the money.

I have the same, solid brewer. I have a Moccamaster at work and it's an upgrade over the enthusiast, but the Bonavita was a bargain, bought when Kohls stocked them a few years ago and it's been problem free.

IMHO, a good drip machine is the way to go when brewing larger batches for guests. Less faffing around, easier to pay attention to your guests. If you are in the US, the Bonavita Enthusiast is only $150 on Amazon. If you don’t mind a glass carafe and hot plate, the Breville Precision Brewer w/ glass

For this use case, i’d keep it boring, honestly, and buy a good drip brewer instead of chasing espresso or app features. When i hit the same spend-too-much-outside phase, the thing that actually stuck was a machine I could prep the night before and clean half-awake. The Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV S

I have a Bonavita that I like but it may be bit over your price range. It's the Bonavita Enthusiast 8 Cup Drip Coffee Brewer. I paid around $150 USD for it. It doesn't have any fancy features like a timer to automatically brew in the morning, for example, but it does make a pretty tasty pot of coffe

For a drip machine, the Bonavita Enthusiast for $150 is a fantastic option.

I have a Bonavita Enthusiast that is reasonably priced, and has a bloom function too!