Synthesizer in the $200 - $400 range

I have both.

You can get the Miniak for a song (about $250) and its not really that hard to program in my opinion. It also has a sweet little sequencer in it which is a blast to use. Like most synths, the sound you get out of it is often based on what you're willing to put into it.

The Venom is a different beast altogether. Huge sound out of the box (probably because it was designed as a performance synth). As previous poster said, it requires a computer for any deep programming. But it's fun to use and has some great presets. There is an excellent pro review over at harmony central.

Only other thing i'd offer is considering an original ipad (to save money) and a cheap midi controller. There are some ridiculously great synths coming out these days. The new animoog is a game changer in my opinion.

Out of Miniak and Venom, sound wise definitely go with the Venom. But like others said be aware you can't fully program it. I used one once and was PO'd to find out you can't event use its multitimrality unless you hooked it up to comp (which I dont like doing) Venom keys are VERY flimsy, cheap feeling as well. Still Id go with it over the MIni, because it does sound pretty good.

Like others said thou, there is better stuff for you out there for $200-$400 (with Keys). yamaha, an1x, Korg DW8000, Alpha Juno, Kawai k5000, korg prophecy, yamaha sy's, etc...

You might find what you need with a used Yamaha AN200, it's a stand alone VA groovebox, but it's got a fairly decent synth for all sorts of acid303esque sounds, digital filters, distortions, etc. You can find them for under $300 usually. Try to get one with the CDROM so you can customize your own patches, because there are some hidden functions you can only access with your computer.

I picked up a used RedSound DarkStar tabletop VA synth and I haven't had a chance to use it quite yet(I need to rescue some of my gear from the pawn shop), but I only paid $175 for mine, but I have no idea if you'd find it as cheap as I did on eBay.

If you can find a Novation AStation rack, you can have plenty of VA goodness.

The problem with old analogue gear is the price, condition, and if it even works or not, so VA isn't so bad if you're on a budget.

I have an Akai AX-80. I can't recommend it highly enough. If I was you I'd take a good long look at the 80's era polysynths. They're typically more reliable than their 70's era uncles, and mostly cheap as chips (except for the overrated Roland Juno 60). While, for the most part, they're less flexible than the newer VA's, they typically have an advantage in the base sound quality department.

Have a look at the Roland JX series, Akai AX/VX series, Oberheim Matrix 6 and Matrix 1000, Cheetah MS-6 (if you can find one), and Korg Poly series. The Ensoniq ESQ-1 and SQ80, Kawai K3, and Korg DW-8000 are also worthy models, although they are hybrid (digital oscillators, analog filters). Or maybe the 90's era Waldorf Pulse or Spectral Audio Neptune. Or maybe a 303 emulator like the MAM Freebass or Doepfer MS-404... Plenty of options.

nice list of synths there.
i recently bought a roland jx8p for $30. so bargains still abound! what a great synth.

I would suggest a cheap VA. the Waldorf MicroQ is immensely powerful, 4 parts, and could handle all your synth needs. There's also the bofield, access virus, jp8000.

I might actually be selling my microQ for a good price if you're interested. I'm trying to go synthless, as I have a tendency to rely on synths over sampling, I really have to focus. you could pick up an oygene to control one of the racks for like $50 or so.