Dual band
Tri Band
2 meter
70 meter
and on and on....

There is so much technical stuff to learn it makes my head spin. But, here's my issue. I bought a BangFang just to putz around, learn a little about basic programming, and basically get my feet wet. Now I'm seeking a second, higher quality radio. There seems to be A LOT of choices in the $300-500 range.
I like the look of the Kenwoods, plus they are MilSpec rated, and mostly waterproof.
But, there simply are no TH72s or TH74s out there. Both have been discontinued, and are scarce.

Could some of you more experienced operators give your opinions on some of the other brands of radios? Or models of Kenwood and Yaesu? Since all the most popular radios are out of stock.

How are the Kenwood THF6A?
Yaesu FT1XDR?  FT3DR? FT 70dr
TYT?
Radio Oddity?
Revis?

For your budget, buy a dual band 2M/70cm mobile radio rom Kenwood, iCom, or Yaesu.  Should be $200-$300.  Then get a power supply and a fixed antenna like the Comet Gp-1.  You will have a nice setup for your home or retreat that is way more useful and fun to play with than any HT.

I have a Yaesu FTM-7250 (the FTM-100 was discontinued, so i bought the 7250 instead) that I paid just over $200 for brand new.  It's a dual band 50 watt transceiver.  I have a lot of Yaesu Fusion repeaters around me, so that feature was important.  It's currently installed in my work vehicle.

I also bought a 20 amp Astron power supply.  All I need is some coax and an antenna and I could have a shack at home.

You will find out that HTs are extremely limited in their usefulness compared to a mobile unit.  It was a night and day difference when I upgraded from a Baofeng UV-5R with a mag mount antenna to a proper mobile radio.

Thanks.

I have an FTM-2750 in my shack.  The price is certainly right.  I think I paid $219.  I am generally happy with it, but the display is not as large as on the iCom radios.  

I recently bought an iCom 2300H for my emcomm box, which is 2 meter only.  I think it was $149.  I like the display on it way better, but there is a bit of a learning curve as I have mostly used Yaesu radios before.  

In any event, a dual band rig that also does a digital mode or $219 is very hard to argue with.

I think I paid $209 for mine from HRO last spring.  I works very well, but I would still prefer to have an FTM-100 or -400.

Another vote for the FTM 7250. It is currently my base radio.

See if there are active 220 MHz repeaters in your area, the SW part of Ohio does..   If not, I wouldn't worry about a "tri-band" radio.  

Same for this area, or as Phurba once put it, 220mhz is for Hams who don't want to talk to anybody.