Welcome to BFL!
i would get a package of 3 lights from my preferred authorized dealer, test them during the weekend, and send back 2 lights. sub-30$ is definitely to be called budget category so you're right on this forum lol. if you are curious what proud owners on BFL have in their collection, check out the collection thread to get a feeling of which models are more popular. Popular lights are popular for some reason (e.g. very good build quality) and praised brands are praised for some reason (e.g. long track record). Well-tried models (for the past ~10 months) are Balder SE-1 and Xeno E03 (EDCplus.com has specialized on selling best-sellers). If you can stretch the budget a little bit more, also have a look at Quark and D25A. You could find them on sale, or CPF coupons or Father's Day specials..
Silly statement but true imho:
If SE-1, E03, Quark and D25A cost all the same 30 bucks, the very best among these 4 would be the Quark. (Anyone wants to disagree?)