I like to look at it the other way around... what makers I'd never recommend. J-knives it'd be a rather short list: avoid Global or Shun, take Miyabi with the appropriated grain of salt but they're interesting at least, and without trying I'd put Mac along with Miyabi, in a much more sober way. Then what.... if one's willing to improve them, most of them are rather pretty darn good for the money. Just beware of low-tier factory as a whole but they're still apt to do more to impress a newcomer than their western counterpart for a similar price. Otherwise, not getting too much caught into the high end is also I believe a good caution. North of 400$ USD, at least consider the alternative of a custom maker.
Otherwise I'll agree with most KKF choices, they're hard to avoid, and even harder to call them anything short of pretty ****ing good. There's a reason why they're favorites.
K. Tanaka (Matsubara) is so rarely mentionned, or always a latecomer, amongst the much more obvious Tanakas, is all I can really add to this. If not that if I'd have to go really dirt cheap again, I'd buy another Kaji-Bei. I recognize that guy needs to expand a bit on shapes and lenghts, however, if to become a point of interest.
If I just answer the question top of my head, it'd be S. Tanaka and Wakui. They're not the ultimate of anything, just the very best values for different reasons to me, and I'd readily build a complete set of knives just choosing amongst these two and have everything someone needs not just to work, but to shine and have fun. Obviously, with hundred of choices at hand, it's easy to start including... well as I said, just about half of them at least?
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