Some great advice so far, all of which I completely agree with
A big +1 to playing every acoustic in the shop - I am sure you will find one that you connect with and hopefully it will be in your budget
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Ignore brands and just keep playing different guitars
Don't pay too much attention to what the different woods "should" sound like - just play them and see which one you like, striking the right balance between sound and playability - there is no point having a great sounding guitar you hate playing (it will affect the performance) and you don't want a crap sounding guitar that plays like a dream - at this price point there is likely to be a little compromise
However, in this day and age I doubt you will find anything that sounds dreadful and a good guitar tech can do a set up that will make most guitars play well so any compromise should not be too big
My biggest piece of advice for someone going from electric to acoustic relates to the strings
Most acoustic strings (and probably all that you play in the shop) will have strings with "hex cores" - ie the core of the wound strings is a hexagonal shape to help the windings bind to the core
This can give them a "grippy" feel when playing
As an experienced electric player you may want to consider "round core" strings such as the handmade DR Sunbeams (
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DR-Handmade-Sunbeam-Phosphor-Acoustic/dp/B001AX06KK ) which I think will help your transition to acoustic
Good luck in your quest and let us know what you go for