Quoted from Rarehero:Don't worry about 'top rated' ...right now you're talking to a bunch of junkies who've most likely been doing this for years, and we're all jaded know-it-alls. ...here's something we often forget. Your first pin is THE BEST GAME EVER, no matter what its reputation is, cuz...dude, there's a pinball machine in your house!!!! Everyone here might say it's the worst game of all time, but you won't care - you'll play it 50 times a day. My first pin was Back to the Future...and my only pin for a few years. Seasoned pin guys would always scoff..."bleh...you have THAT piece of sh*t?!" ...whatever, I loved that thing. Eventually I came to the same conclusion lol...but, hey - don't underestimate the wonderful feeling of "FIRST PIN" ...it won't matter what anyone else thinks.
truer words have never been spoken...
there are many of us out here who will never own an "a-list" (or b/c/d list) pin who are very happy campers... 
op, get out and play some games.... buy something that fits your budget... play it and enjoy it... as noted by rarehero, simply having a game will keep you happy for quite awhile...
i'm relatively old... but i still remember thinking when i was a yute pumping nickels and dimes into machines that it would be the coolest thing in the world to have my very own machine... and (short of my theater) it IS the coolest thing in the world... 
as a side note, it's always amusing to see the reaction of people you know... "you have a pinball machine? at home? really? wow, that's so neat, can i come play it?"... or they think you are completely nuts... 
bottom line... play some games, buy one that fits your budget, and be happy... there are scads of machines out there that are lots of fun to play that many here will simply turn their noses up at (cough... em's... cough)...
