Hi Beth -
A good chuck with a number of jaw sets is one of my buys I would recommend, but I think it may be out of what you were planning to spend. The club bought Penn State chucks, but I wouldn't advise them. I use two chuck brands - Oneway and Nova. I have a OneWay Talon on my smaller lathe - its perfectly sized for small lathes, but gives lots of options with jaws. On my larger lathe I have a Nova SuperNova II. It's larger, heavier and has replaceable inserts, so handles 1" or larger headstock threads.
For a midi lathe, Oneway Talon or the Apprentice from Craft Supply are both good purchases. The both are cam driven 4 jaw chucks that will serve you well.