For your price range, Green Mountain Grill is absolutely the way to go. And Meathead over on the AmazingRibs.com website will tell you the same thing.
Traeger makes a great pellet grill, except for one feature. That is the controller. It has very limited settings, only adjusting at 25° F increments. And it is notorious for running high at the magical 225° F temperature. And, it's top temperature is only 400° F. The Traeger controller does not include a food temperature probe option, unless you get the pro controller, which most of their grills in your price range does not include.
For this primary reason, Meathead recommends the Green Mountain Grill as a better choice than the Traeger.
The Green Mountain Grill can be changed in 5° F increments, with a range from 150° - 500° F. Plus it has a built in food temperature probe option. For your price range, you can probably get the wifi controller option, which allows you to program temperature events, control and monitor the grill temperature from your smart phone.
Traeger has recently offered a new grill, the Timberline series. It really raises the bar. The controller is top notch, it has shelves for extra capacity, and the way it uses convection to reduce cook time and give even smoke across food on all three shelves. But it way out of your price range. The cheaper version is $1700 USD.
Yoder, Rec Tec, and Memphis Grills all make great grills also, but they are premium grill with premium prices.
Take a real serious look at the Green Mountain Grill line. You won't be disappointed.
Also, pellets are not all created equal. I prefer Lumberjack pellets over Traeger or Green Mountain Grill pellets. Try the brands you find in your area. I'm sure you will find a superior product to Traeger pellets.