You probably had a Wacom Bamboo?
Considering your budget, a Wacom Intuous is going to be your best option. They're small, but still large enough to be useful - and are basically the Bamboo rebranded. If you were up for spending more then the Intuous Pro are amazing.
But yeah, basically Wacom is the way to go - I personally wouldn't go with any other brand, though others here may have had a decent experience -shrug-