I have a thermie but have heard from a lot of people with bellinis. Although they do break often they also seem to repair/replace promptly while under warranty.

I think it depends a bit on what you want to chop - if you want to make sorbets or mill grains then I'd be looking for the most powerful/expensive processor you can afford. But if you only want to make dip/chop veggies than a $200-300 food processor would probably be fine.