I divide my thinking between all leather boots and leather/fabric boots mid-height boots.
My all leather boots are mainly used in the winter because I have more confidence in them to keep my feet dry. I use Berghaus Superlights, they suit me and my feet and I really can't fault them. When I've searched around on the internet I've managed to buy them cheaply as well.
My leather/fabric boots are Solomon Ultra X's, they are wonderfully comfortable but as yet I'm not sure if they will keep my feet dry, haven't taken them out in rain yet and when I've used them it hasn't rained anyway. I personally have had real problems with leaking leather/fabric boots, every pair (I've had three) leaked like a sieve.
I find that when I start looking for cheap boots, the media/marketing reviews, etc tend I believe to concentrate on the bigger companies with the most financial clout, well that's my belief anyway and its the same for most products, tents and everything else. I tend to search around a bit and get into the back pages online to read about the cheaper stuff. For example, my Decathlon £12.99 hiking trousers (they were £7.99 last year) are far far better than my £70 Marmot walking trousers. If I was starting to look for cheap boots I think Decathlon, Millets etc I think is a good baseline to start from as a way of comparing prices with other brands.