Totally ripped from this link:
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/EquipmentCorner/1230.shtml
Equipment Corner: Ice Cream Machines
A $600 unit is a dream, but a $60 model is also a winner.
If you're in the market for an ice cream maker, you've got several options. We tested seven models, ranging in price from a fairly modest $50 to a whopping $600. They fell into three basic categories: expensive machines that don't require the use of a freezer; midpriced machines with an electric motor and a removable canister that must be frozen in advance; and midpriced machines without a motor that required hand cranking or stirring and had a removable canister that must be frozen in advance.
The two canister-free models were also the most expensive, and they produced smooth, creamy ice cream. The Lussino Dessert Maker from Musso ($594.95, 1 ½-quart capacity) contains a built-in refrigerator unit and is the Cadillac of ice cream makers. It lets you make endless batches of ice cream without having to wait 12 hours for a freezer canister to get back down to the proper temperature.
The three electric models with canisters that must go in the freezer overnight made delectably smooth, creamy ice cream in less than 30 minutes. The ice cream was quite soft, however, and benefited from a few hours in the freezer to firm it up before eating. The Krups La Glacière ($59.95, 1 ½-quart capacity) was quieter than both the Cuisinart one-canister machine ($49.95, 1 ½-quart capacity) and the Cuisinart two-canister machine ($99.95, 2-quart capacity). Given its modest price and size (and immodestly good ice cream), the Krups machine is an excellent choice.
The unmotorized machines cost about as much as the Krups and Cuisinart but produced ice cream.that was inferior--less smooth, less creamy, and more icy.