Stihl requires that their saws ONLY be sold through brick-and-mortar retailers, so online shopping is out. I heard that Stihl requires that their saws be gassed and fired up prior to handing them over to the customer. Not a bad practice if you have a dealer nearby, pain in the behind if you don't (or if your local dealer is a POS who you don't want to do business with).
As for prices, Husqvarna prices can be looked up at commercialcutters.com or baileys-online.com, among others. From my Stihl 2005 MSRP sheet, the 170 goes for $159; the 180 for $199; the 210 for $229; and the 250 for $279. The 210 and 250 come standard with 16" bars, the 170 and 180 with 14"; other sizes can be substituted at purchase or later. The Echos that I suggested are both going to be under $300.
Based upon your later post, if your needs only included trimming limbs, cutting up fallen branches, and tending shrubs, I would say that the smaller saws (Stihl 170, 180) would be adequate. But if you are going to be dealing with firewood, where sizes might merit a bit more power, I would aim for something along the lines of the Stihl 250 or Husqvarna 350. If you figure your use will be somewhere in the middle, the Stihl 210 or Husqvarna 340 would be the ticket. And if you anticipate doing a fair amount of your work from a ladder or in a tree, then you might want to look at some of the top handle Echos (301, 341, 330, 360); if your work will be biased to on-the-ground cutting, which is most likely the case, I would suggest you stick with something with a conventional handle layout, as that balances much better when used for a protracted period of time.
Whatever you decide to do, just remember that the saw you elect to buy now will be with you for years, so it is generally better to have a bit more saw than you need than the other way around, both in terms of power and capabliity, and also quite frankly in terms of how much you spend. That thirty (or fifty or seventy) extra dollars today is a lot less than a whole new saw later when you need to upgrade.
As for what particular saw to buy, that's a tough one for someone else to decide. I do know, though, that a light saw (for a given level of power output) is nicer than a heavier one, so keep that in mind. I also know that not everybody needs (or wants) a huge saw that cuts insanely fast. By way of example, I was cutting up some small branches around the house the other day. They were two to four inches in diameter. My Echo top handle saw was at a friend's house, so I ended up cutting them up with my 80cc 6+hp Dolmar. It took at least four times as long to cut them with the big saw than it would have with the little one, between bracing the branches so they didn't get tossed all over the place and not cutting the branches as they lay in a pile because, unlike the Echo, I had to move each piece after I cut it because the Dolmar will send the already cut pieces flying if the tip catches one; the Echo just nicks the piece and it stays right where it is. My point in this is to figure out what you need to cut, what your usual use for the saw will be, and buy a saw that fits that.
