Kitchenelf,
As far as what kind of rice cooker to get, I'm no expert. When I was looking, I found there were two different kinds; One looks like a slow cooker with an aluminum or nonstick coated pot insert and a glass lid. The other kind has a "hatch" at the top similar to a deep fryer. The "hatch" kind are apparently the better ones as they can keep the rice hot much longer (12 hours, I think). They also tend to have more advanced features like the timer and cost much more than the basic ones.
The one I have is a 8 cup model made by aroma. It has a glass lid and a keep warm feature and came with a steaming attachment. It'll keep the rice warm for arond 3 hours before it starts drying it out from the heat. I assume the other ones keep the moisture in much better. I didn't find it a big deal to rehydrate slightly dry rice. I just add a little more water and put it back on cook for a bit. It has some kind of sensor to tell it when to stop. Mine cost around $75 Canadian. You can get basic 5 cup ones for around $30. Just make sure it has the keep warm feature as some of the simple ones don't. I don't find much of a problem cleaning stuck on rice from the bottom, but if you want a nonstick one, be prepared to spend around $100 Canadian.