/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I've recently taken to amateur electronics as a hobby and I think I want to get an oscilloscope. I've been thinking about this for two primary reasons: I think it would be an effective learning tool and I think it would give me a better understanding of signal processing, which also rather interests me.

I've taken a look at craigslist in my area and most of the listings are either $100-$200 "not sure if works" purely analog antiques or $9,000 mysteries.

Ideally, I think I'd like something digital instead of analog for the built-in readouts, but is seems there are a lot of options out there. I've also looked up a few USB/audio jack setups you connect to your computer, but a lot of those seemed to have a lot less functional range than the real deal (or warnings like "exceeding 5V may damage your computer hardware".)

Does anyone have any experience with oscilloscopes that could be had for, say, less than $400 and could give some suggestions? caveats? tips? What are the pros/cons of analog vs. digital scopes?

Thanks in advance.