I am a fan of Thursday Boot Company. I bought a pair of Captain's Boots from them a while back and they are my favorite boots. I basically looked up leather nerds in forums and found a positive review for them - they have an in-house leather production thing going where it is kind of like a more expensive boot for less. They still cost like $200 but apparently the quality is up there with a five hundred dollar pair. Either way I usually buy really cheap shoes from payless so I don't have a lot of experience to compare, but they fit like a glove and are super comfortable.