DrankTank : The Beverage Blog

I have had the same coffee maker for about 5 years now.
I have been using a Mr. Coffee glass carafe drip coffee maker with a built in blade grinder.  I bought it kinda on a whim with no research (very unlike me) when I saw it on sale at Harris Teeter the weekend we moved into our new house (I was in a spending mood I guess).  It has been good but I think it is finally time to retire it.
The good things:

1. It was cheap.
2. It takes up less counter space than a separate coffee maker AND a grinder would.
3. When I buy good beans (which I usually do), the quality is acceptable.

A few complaints:

1. The moisture from the brewing process makes the coffee grinder part build up with crud every time I brew a pot.  It must be cleaned every time in order to avoid clogging.
2. The latch on the lid that covers the water tank (and the grinder) broke within the first year of having it.  Since it will not grind unless this lid is secure, I have to hold it manually, or put something heavy on it in order to grind the coffee.
3. Probably not the best quality coffee in the world.  I wouldn’t mind stepping it up a notch next go-around.
4. It’s not a thermal carafe, which I would prefer for those weekend mornings of coffee-drinking spread out over hours.
5. And finally…  The grinder casing has just started to crack… I’m worried it is going to get worse and will start spewing coffee grounds all over the counter top unless I start using Duct Tape.

So, I begin my quest.  I don’t want to spend $200 on a coffee maker.  But I am willing to pay for a decent quality cup of coffee, considering I do use this thing EVERY MORNING of my life.  My questions are:  Should I just get a separate grinder?  Should I go ahead and upgrade to a burr grinder instead of a blade?  Am I going to hate a thermal carafe because I can’t SEE my coffee?  Is there really a quality difference in a $50 drip maker and a $150 drip maker?   Are these reviews I read on line from people WAY more picky than I, or is a fine-tuned brew temp & speed maker really going to make my coffee drastically better?

I really don’t know the answer to these questions.  I’m not in a rush, so I’ll probably just keep an eye out for a great deal on a good rated coffee maker.  But, if any reader has any suggestions, please shoot them at me.