I'm just going to present some fast information related to comments in this thread, in no particular order.
Large wheels are rarely found on good mowers. They make it easier to roll over rough terrain, but harder to tilt to turn. The mounting brackets tend to fail faster than ones for normal-size wheels.
Front-wheel-drive mowers are not made in any quality, but they're well suited to smaller lawns. Better mowers come with rear-wheel-drive. RWD can be hard to turn in small lots until you become comfortable with the controls.
About the $400 point marks a huge jump in quality. Above that they get much, much better. Below that most are pretty mediocre.
I'll never own another Craftsman self-propelled bagging mower or a similar machine under a different brand. The older ones I've owner were pretty poor, the newer ones I've worked on were worse. The deck, drive system, and handles are what I'm talking about.
Honda engines are good, but the carburators (at least on the GC engines) are especially vulnerable to dirt. They're also often very hard to clean, although on the other side they're only about $15 to replace.
Honda's pro engines are the GX models. You won't need one of those for homeowner use. The GCs are fine for that. You also won't find a GX on a good mower in your price range.
Husqvarna isn't a mower maker. They slap their name on mowers made by AYP. AYP is a low-end brand who also make the same machines for Sears and a half-dozen others. You're paying for the paintjob.
In the $300 range I'd probably recommend a Toro Recycler (average quality but very good company support) or whatever the best single-speed Honda is in that price range.
If you can push it all the way to $500, you can get a Toro Super Recycler (THE Toro mower) or an Ariens LM21 (excellent mower, rarely recognized the way it should be.) If you can get a Snapper Hi-Vac for that that's also an excellent option, but I think Snapper has priced the Hi-Vacs out of that range. I'm not terribly familar with the Hondas in this price range. My impression of the ones I've seen were that they were overly complicated.
My preference is mowers with gear shifts and clutch levers. I don't like variable-speed (like Personal Pace, Push-to-Go, Honda's thumb drive) but most good mowers come with these things now. You generally have to go into the pro models ($800+) to get normal multiple-speed shift drives.
This is what I use right now. It's a 2001 Toro Super Recycler with a 6.5HP Briggs custom engine and BBC. It was the last consumer SR sold with a 3-speed, essentially a Proline with a cheaper engine. Sold for around $800 when it was new, I bought it used for $120. Before this I had two similar Toros from 1986 with Suzuki engines. The only reason I replaced them was parts availability.
