I am trying to identify the right king-sized mattress to purchase for my wife and me. I have read these forums, conducted some online research, spoken to a couple of friends in the furniture industry, and visited a local sleep store to get an idea of options. I know to avoid the no-flip, single-sided sleep system. I want an innerspring mattress and not a foam or "hybrid". Based on the experience and the 10 minutes we spent on the Simmons Beautyrest mattresses in the store, we seem to prefer a firm to medium-firm mattress.

The buying process has been complicated by a few factors. 1 - We live in a small state with limited mattress options. The area stores offer a limited selection of single-sided mattresses from Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Stearns & Foster, Restronic, and some promotional brands. I'm advised flippable Jamisons are offered by one or two family-owned furniture stores in small towns. We are nowhere near Royal-Pedic, Shifman, McRoskey, Hastens, Hypnos, or Duxiana retailers. 2 - Even if these high-end mattresses were accessible to us, they appear to be out of our price range. After purchasing a house and taking a better job that paid less money, a Shifman (or the less-expensive Royal-Pedic) mattress is not doable. I'd budgeted about $2,200 for the mattress. $3,000 is the upper limit.

Are there any mattress manufacturers that would be dramatic improvements from the Sealy/Serta/Simmons line but also below the price of the so-called "luxury" lines like Royal-Pedic and Shifman? There seems to be a huge price gap (and at least from research, a corresponding quality gap as well) between the "S" brand tier and the Shifman/Royal-Pedic tier and nothing in between.

Your collective wisdom would be greatly appreciated.