Regarding Eagle, one thing to keep in mind is the philosophy of the system, which is opposite to normal Windows programs.
In "normal" Windows programs, you would select objects, then perform actions on them. With Eagle, you select a mode/action, then start picking objects to act on. The systems itself works well, you just have to get used to it.
When you're not used to it, it's very easy to have the delete tool selected, and click in the workspace. In that case, it deletes the nearest object, which is probably not what you intended. You just have to remember to change to whatever mode you need.
Eagle has a very complete set of parts libraries. Copying parts between libs is a real pain though.
Choosing a design suite will really depend on what you want to design. You say mainly 2-layers, but maybe sometimes 4-layers. Do you want/need to do schematic design/capture to feed into pcb layout design ? Can you do your work just at the pcb layout level, without "real" schematics ? Do you need complete parts libraries with simulation models ?
If your designs get complex (heh, define THAT) you will find that a system that uses design rules to be a godsend. Unfortunately, that will probably break your $200 budget.
I would say to take a look at CircuitMaker 2000. I don't know the current price (probably too much) but I've used it before, and it has a nice easy interface, and does a great job of smaller projects. It will handle 4-layers just fine as I recall. It's put out by the same people (Altium) that do Protel 99SE / Protel DXP.
Dean.
