Paiste PST-5

By far the BEST cymbals in the $100 per category are the Paiste PST-5s. I own a small number of them and was only dissapointed by one. The 18" medium crash is a versatile crash with wonderful brightness, awesome sustain (not too much) and I imagine would be perfect for any context. For the Heavy music guys, the 19" rock crash lives up to it's name. The bell is great to use as an alternative to your ride and the cymbal has spectacular brightness. I wouldn't trade it for anything. The 14" hi hats get the job done well, and come back for more. It's a heavy bottom/medium top combo that delivers great sound. The 18" china just wasn't the right sound for me, but that's subjective, so don't count it out. I think that anyone looking at simlarly priced cymbals (Sabian B8PRO/Zildjian ZBT/ZXT/ZHT) should take a listen to the PST-5 series once. Paiste's website has much better sound previews than either of the other members of the big three.