The only time I've got burned is on the really cheap scopes, two that fogged up on me, the $30 BSA and the $50 Barska, but I have a few others that cost very little, and seem to work fine so far, but they're older Simmons scopes that are no longer made that I got on closeout. Many rimfire shooters at RFC praise the top of the line BSA Platinums, but they use them on rimfire rifles and they apparently work very well for them, but for the same money, a Mueller can be had that has an impressive reputation on any rifle.
I've got several Leupold scopes, all VX-1s and an older Vari-X compact, other than an Elite 4200, they all cost $250 or less, with most of em about $150-$200. In my opinion, above that threshold, you don't get a lot more for your money, the higher you go, the less you get in return.
Tim