yeah. so any blockset from then in my price range is ok?
I'm a grade A certified knife nerd. Scratch that, I'm a knife FREAK and I'm probably out of my mind. Put it this way, I just put down a 50% deposit on a single knife that costs far more than any knife block set that has been mentioned in this thread. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying I care about knives more than the average person. I've used a lot of knives and lot of steels.
My $0.02... forget Wusthof, Henkels, etc. The steel is good and strong and lasts forever, but they're thick and wedge through veggies. The Victorinox/Forschner knives take just as keen an edge and slice pretty darn great. Not to mention, they're much cheaper (in price) white still being very durable.
My "good" knives are all carbon steel (not stainless) that I keep perfectly sharpened by hand on whetstones. My backup/kamikaze set that I use when I can't care for my knives or when I have company over are a set of Victorinox. If someone told me I wasn't allowed to have the knives I buy (custom/semi-custom from Japanese and American makers) and that I could ONLY buy knives that are readily available then I would buy Forschners in a heartbeat.
Also, I recommend against buying block sets as well. As mentioned before, a block set always contains knives you won't use/need, and redundant knives. If you're crafty you can do everythijng you need with an 8" chef's knife. However, you will get plenty of use with a 10" or 12" slicer (I don't like granton/dimple edges). A boning knife, parer or utility knife are also nice. A bread knife is the only serrated knife you should have in your set, if you keep your chef's knife sharp it will slice through tomatos beautifully.
A magnetic rack is the most sanitary method for storing knives. I've heard stories about knife blocks trapping bacteria since you can't easily clean inside them, although they might be exaggerated I still prefer a magnetic rack for quick access.
Good luck.