I played guitar in my teens and early twenties.  I also had a ukulele that I enjoyed the heck out of when I was around 13 or 14.  It was cheap (basically a souvenir-type toy), and didn’t stay in tune at all.  It was fun though, and people liked listening to it.

I’m 44 now, and not really interested in getting back to guitar, but I wouldn’t mind having a nice ukulele to play around with.  That said, what is a “nice” ukulele?  I have to think that someone must make something that is actually instrument-quality, but I just don’t even know the first thing on what to look for.  Any info or advice will be appreciated.  Not looking to spend a ton, but would like something that plays well and would last a long time.

I just dropped $200 on a Kala soprano uke for my daughter.

You alluded to the toylike quality of certain ukuleles, and yeah, a lot of them are like that. In my experience, they're usually sopranos in the $40 range. They sound like shit and you can't tune them.

They have some nice ones in addition to the kiddie ones at my Sam Ash, though, and I just went through them until I found something solid.

Just grab a Snark tuner, throw it on each uke, and find one that you can get sounding nice. You'll be able to find one you like.

If I was buying one for myself, I might consider a tenor uke.

Thanks for the info.  I had to look up what a snark tuner is, pretty but now that I know, it seems like good advice!  Hopefully I’ll get a chance to stop in a few places this week.

Yeah, I mention those tuners because that's what they have lying around my local Sam Ash.

I like them because of how they clip onto the headstock. I bought one for my kid to include with her uke package.

Well, I ended up getting one of these:

https://lanikaiukuleles.com/product/ziricote-concert-kula-preamp-ae-ukulele/

So far, I really like it.  For under $300, I am very impressed with the quality.  Fit & finish is beautiful, the neck is straight and flat, and all strings ring clear on all frets with no dead spots.  It stays in tune very well, and the onboard tuner is easy to use for when it needs it.  I'm no expert, but I am totally satisfied with the purchase.

Congrats, looks nice

Having been born and raised in Hawai’i, I’ve seen a shit ton of Ukes in my time. In my house, we had several ukes, ranging from a master built Kamaka (from the 60’s), to ones built by family members, and everything in between. My mom is a performing musician, who plays the Uke almost exclusively. With that said, with a multitude of ukes to choose from, she will 9 times out of ten, reach for her Oscar Shmidt uke to play. I’m not even sure where those are made, but I’m pretty sure it’s not made in Hawai’i (or even the US). Point is, there’s lots of companies that make great, affordable, gig-able ukes out there.

We bought a Waterman uke for a close friend’s daughter (she turned 6), a few months back, it’s plastic, and pink, but it sounds/plays great.

Other brands to looks at are Mele and Kala (among a plethora of others).

Good luck with your search.

Edit. Oops, just noticed you already bought one. Carry on.

Get a good all laminate, and you wont have to worry so much about the wood slitting from dry air.
I like my Islander quite a bit, its tuned dGBE, like the bottom 4 string of a guitar and allows me to sing more easily as its a bit lower than the standard gCEA.

My current favorite for very good but cheap ukulele is the Kmise in any size. I own a tenor but have played all sizes and they are very good for the money.