Edit: Added a TL;DR at the bottom because I'm stupidly wordy 
I've spent the last few days poring over the threads here and elsewhere, looking at prices, watching (and listening to!) videos, and reading reviews. I've decided that what I really, really what is an entry-level keyboard with Cherry Blue switches. Being in the rural US, I've got more options than some, less than others. My only major local big box store (Best Buy) doesn't even stock the Razer Black Widow, so my ability to test these things out is essentially zilch (none of my friends or acquaintances have mechanical keyboards, either), and I'll have to order online.
Unfortunately, picking the best* and then actually buying it is proving exceptionally difficult. First, I'll lay out what I've planned on with a bit of a blurb on each, just so we know what I'm discussing
Rosewill RK-9000 - Reviews very well for its price, I like Newegg a lot!
EliteKeyboards Blue Switch - Their Majestouch line reviewed well, looked beautiful
Razer Black Widow - Needlessly gamery, but very pretty, easily available, goes on sale, too!
I've eliminated the Scorpius M10 and Adesso MKB 135-B, as I've heard less than positive things about their build quality (always going to be an issue at my price level, which is, hopefully, under $100 USD shipped) and reliability over time which worry me. I'd be willing to reconsider if recently shipped models are better-made or you guys say that they're worth the money! You *are* the experts
Anyway, I feel very trapped right now with my top three choices because the first two seem to be completely unavailable unless I get lucky enough to catch an eBayer selling one (foreign availability of the Filco Majestouches is no go--the shipping kills my price point). People talk about buying the RK-9000 recently (someone on this board reported getting one just two weeks ago!), but everywhere I go reports the item is no longer in stock or no longer even exists!
Moreover, the EliteKeyboards site is apparently moving over to a new Korean manufacturer to replace its Filco line, and while the initial review on this board was positive, I don't know if they plan to offer a full 104/5-key board and what the pricing and availability will be on the new boards. If they're $80-$100 and coming out in a week, I'm happy to wait, but if they're $150 and not shipping till late March, I'm a lot less enthusiastic.
The Razer looks very nice and I'm not TOO concerned about KRO, as I've been using $10 Microsofts and Dells for most of my life and while I do game, I am NOT pro-level at anything and never will be. I might be getting into rhythm-based gaming in the near future thanks to getting hooked on a Stepmania knockoff on my Android phone, and I do play Starcraft 2 and RPGs like Mass Effect 2 and The Witcher regularly on my PC, so if the Razer's KRO limitations might harm a bad, no-coordination gamer, then I wouldn't necessarily want it.
My primary use case outside of the aforementioned gaming is writing. As you can see from this increasingly lengthy post, I love to write and can be very long-winded. I am working on a long fantasy novel and can go at high speeds for hours at a time and my current ComfortCurve2000 is just not up to the job at all. I also code Python and might pick up Java, so I do make a moderate amount of use of funky characters and numbers--partly why I am somewhat attached to my numpad (despite being a touch-typist, if I'm rattling off more than 3-4 numbers in a row, or doing math in a calculator program, I tend to move over to the numpad as I am faster on it than I am with the horizontal number row).
Finally, I would love to have working media keys in Windows 7 and Ubuntu or Mint Linux. I listen to music (iTunes and/or MediaMonkey) all day long on my second monitor, and if I could finally start controlling track forward/backward without having to alt-tab over to it (the Back/Forward keys on my CC2K don't work unless my music application has focus, although the Pause/Play button is universal), I'd be ecstatic. So, high-quality drivers and non-focus media-key usability are huge plusses in my book.
So, I present it to you, the experts: Do I pick up the Razer now, or try to wait out Rosewill or EliteKeyboards for their lineups? I need something that will last me, although I recognize that at my price point, I'm not going to get Model M levels of durability. Are the other brands ever going to really come, or is the Razer my only remaining good-quality kb at this level?
Thanks for any and all advice!
(P.S. - I've already discussed it with the missus, regarding the blue switches. She says that my typing on my rubber dome is already hellaciously annoying and that she puts on her headphones most of the time as it is; something louder won't really annoy her more. She's a keeper!)
* As subjective as that word might be!
TL;DR: I want a $70-$100 USD mechanical keyboard with Cherry Blue switches. I like the Razer BlackWidow, Rosewill RK-9000, and the Elite Keyboard models most. Any other mech keyboards in that range (104/5-key, media keys, PS2 or USB interface) of good quality? Any ideas on when the RK9000 and EK's new Cherry's will be available, and will they be worth the wait? Heavy writing, moderate coding, moderate low-level gaming (RTS and RPG).
