[Amateur radio has] deteriorated into nothing more than glorified CB. Most hams nowadays can't even use a DVM and just don't know what or how to use that type of gear.
Ouch. I'm a no-code Tech, got licensed at 12 years old -- I'm 37 now -- and never expected to get into electronics as I have recently. But I'm not sure how prevalent really low-level electronics knowledge was even among the crusty old guys I met when I was first getting into the hobby. Lots of knowledge about RF propagation and amplifiers and whatnot -- but from an arms length I think the rise of SDR has brought back interest in circuit building that mostly faded after the days of crystal sets in favor of off-the-shelf iCom/Kenwood/Yaesu (and, ugh, ok, Alinco and Realistic) gear. That's part of why I'm here....
With the DS1054Z, Rigol owns the entry level scope market. Nobody comes close in features vs price.
I have spent a lot of time wringing my hands about this and I reached the same conclusion -- either the DS1054Z (or the step up with the logic analyzer port, although Dave's review recommended getting a USB analyzer instead) or else the new 200 MHz Siglent -- but while still relatively affordable, it's twice the price.
And Keysight has now set the price of a refurbed & warrantied (but not calibrated, heh) 1024A at $750 so there's that to consider, depending on what qualifies as within "entry level" price range.