Once you become accustomed to good sheets, there's no going back to your icky poly-cotton percale....eeeeew, the very thought makes me shudder. One place where I have found lovely sheets for very good prices is at Linensource. They have great sales and even the regular stuff is pretty heavily discounted.

These are the Grand Supima 450 thread count sheets that you see everywhere. They are a very reliable brand, wear well and feel great. A queen-sized sheet set is $129 for the four pieces and the duvet/shams set is only $109!

Now I'm a bit picky on the idea of colored/patterned sheets. Unless it's Porthault at $1000 per sheet, I'm not having any patterns. Nothing beats crisp white linens for an elegant bed on a budget. After all, you spend a third of your life in bed, your sheets might as well be fabulous.