Recommendations for first quality pipe

I'm not sure if this sort of post is frowned upon here, but I'm pretty overwhelmed looking at the online pipe shops. My current pipe was an impulse buy on Amazon and I'm looking to upgrade to something properly made. It is hard to tell on a website if a $50 pipe is ok, or if I should be spending more to get something better.

I think meerschaums are cool but would also take a briar. Something I don't like about my current one is I can't hold it at all in my mouth without using my hand to prop it. Would more of a bent shape help that?

My price range is around $200 max. Any linked recommendations would be appreciated!