What ball head should I buy?

What do you use your camera for , what type of photographs ?

Also price range

What sort of tripod are you intending to mount it on, what sort of camera and lens are you going to be using? Your question is a bit vague.

Manfrotto 468MG RC2 Hydrostatic Ball Head – $250

Beats your price range, tough as nails, great quick release system, and the hydrostatic is really nice, it allows you to adjust the friction on the ball so that even when it isn’t locked in it can be easy to move if you have a light weight prime lens on or turn up the friction if you have your 70–200 workhorse on there.

I love the Bogen/Manfrotto stuff. I favor the QR plates over ArcaSwiss, Really Right Stuf et al.

The tripod I intend to mount it on is a Gitzo Leveling Tripod http://tinyurl.com/nme549

I’d like to take pictures of landscape, night photography, architecture