I currently own 2 pairs of Skullcandy Jib that I bought at Walmart for $9.99 each. I've heard much better earphones, but as far as worth goes, these headphones sound amazing for only 10 bucks. Any other good brands/models out there? I'm not looking for something ridiculous like Beats; I just want something I can get for 10-40 dollars that sounds great.
I've heard senheisser is the best brand at a reasonable price range. I'm not an audiophile myself so I don't really notice much of the difference between headphones but from comments online I've seen this seems to be one of the popular brands to buy for someone looking for high quality sound but not willing to pay the Beats type of price.
So I don't have any recommendations for headphones at the $10-$40 range because they all sound close to the same, and even I can't deal with such poor audio. The best bang for the buck, if you're looking for in-ear headphones, is the Shadow Wireless from Sol Republic. They cost $99 at most stores and are Bluetooth headphones. They sound far better than other $100 Bluetooth in-ears, and I haven't had any issues with them in the past few months of ownership. I love them!
I have gone through a lot of ear phones! Usually at first they work just fine, than usually one of the ear pieces goes out so than only one side has music coming out of it. I got a pair of headphones for 10 bucks i usually don't like spending much money on earphones. Those earphones lasted me a whole 3 days before going out i was very upset that they didn't last long at all! And they were def not worth the money! So, than i just got tired of looking and spending 10 or 15 bucks on head phones that do not last long at all! So, i headed over to dollar tree and got me a pair of headphones for a buck and to my surprise the headphones worked very well! They lasted me longer than any of the other more expensive headphones did, and the headphones were of good quality and the sound was clear and loud the way i like my headphones! Those headphones lasted me for months before i had to purchase some new ones and that was only because my son decided to throw them in the toilet! Lol. So, if you ask me the price of the headphones means exactly nothing to me! And i think the dollar headphones work better than the more expensive ones at like Walmart.
I'll second Sennheiser. I'm still using their earphones (no idea which ones, but they cost me just under 20 euro when I got them) almost a year and a half since I got them. I'm not an audiophile myself, but they're pretty decent quality and haven't broken yet.
While skullcandy's bargain earbuds sound amazing, do not get them based on price alone. They break so easily and constantly have to be replaced every six months. Buy some higher end phones to use so that you won't have to keep buying after they break. These are products worth investing into because you will be using them a lot for travel and late night music / podcast excursions. I've probably wasted $200 in the past between old sets when I could simply have gotten the more expensive one and never have to buy again.
I can't remember the exact model, as the number rubbed off the sides a while ago, but I bought a pair of Sony headphones from BestBuy about two years ago and they're still going strong. Just a simple pair of ear buds, about $10, but they've outlasted a much larger, more expensive pair of headphones I got my wife for Christmas last year. They also stay in my ears really nicely thanks to the gel tips, which I often find to be an issue when jogging and whatnot.
I'm fine with Sony or Phillips. They are pretty cheap, specially compared to some other brands, and are pretty decent quality. I have purchased other earphones for the same price and they were always nowhere near as good.
For the most part, you get what you pay for. Beats are obviously great earphones but they are not within everyone's budget. For me, the best bang for the buck are the Apple earbuds. The song quality is great, they fit my ears great, and they are affordable. Around $30 per pair. So those, would be my recommendation. For folks who enjoy Apple products at least.