It's a lot easier to get a reliable gun nowadays than it used to be. It has to be asked though, reliable with what? What are you going to shoot. It's very easy to get a gun that's 100% with FMJ, but it's a lot more difficult to get one that will feed everything.
I've got two 45 autos right now, a Colt Gold Cup, current production, and a Springfield Armory Loaded model. Both have been 100% with everything I've fed them. Neither is a low-end model. I'd characterize them as high end standard production guns. After you get past those, what is left is pretty much semi-custom stuff like Wilson.
You said you weren't necessarily interested in bottom-dollar but...Tisas makes a heckuva .45 with their bargain-basement 1911A1 GI repro model. From what I've seen on video and from what reliable sources here have related, they are 100% reliable with FMJ. I haven't seen one bobble with anything having watched several videos on them.
The two I've got were medium-priced. The Colt maybe a $1200-1300 gun and the SA about $1000. I have no idea what they'd be selling for in the current market. I know the Tisas is hard to get but it can be had and it will come in significantly under $500.
Rock Island makes a good bottom-end gun too, but if I were buying something other than what I have, it would be the Tisas...unless I couldn't get one, then I'd try Rock Island.
