Not sure of the quality comparison between the two, but $78.81 from Sam's Club. Only reason I know this off the top of my head is that these are the ones that I have on my list for when I move up to 1/2 bbl batches. All they need from there is a bulkhead, thermowell, a heating element, and a sight gauge.
Pictures on Sam's Club site don't show if your pot has a clad bottom or not. It also doesn't mention it in the description, so I would assume that it doesn't have one. In my experience, stainless steel pots that don't have clad bottoms are not worth getting. They burn whatever is cooking in them far too easily. The only real way to avoid that is to be [almost] constantly stirring them (while the heat is on them).
The aluminum pot I picked up is 4mm thick (the entire pot, bottom and sides) so it evens out the heat really well (on the bottom and even up the sides).
Also, I think people are missing the fact that the OP is a college STUDENT, i.e. has very little to spend here. Asking why he won't go for a $150+ pot, when he can get one for ~$50 is not even funny. When you're starting out, and even when you're a bit into it (for 5 gallon batches at least), you don't NEED a termowell. You don't NEED a sight tube/glass. You don't NEED a ball valve in the pot. Sure, everyone would like to have those, but they're "like to have" items, which you can rather easily do without. Of course, that changes when you go to 10 gallon (or larger) batches.
I do see the 32 gallon aluminum pot as a good purchase. For one thing, it gives you plenty of space pot-boil. If you're moving it over to the sink (or next to the sink) to use a chiller, you don't need to worry about spilling it. You can easily mash (BIAB) in the pot (for decent gravity brews too) without over flowing.
I'll be giving serious thought to picking up another one, as well as a propane burner soon. That way, come spring time, I'll be able to brew outside pretty easily. Of course, I'll still need to schlep the wort into the apartment, so the propane cooker might happen when I've moved to a new place. Although, it would be good to use if I wanted to brew someplace else (family, friends, etc.)...
I would also suggest checking with your grandparents to see if they have any large aluminum (or stainless) pots that they are not using. Had I known I would be brewing, I would have grabbed the ones from my grandfather's place (after he passed away)... Alas, that was about two years before I started brewing.
BTW, I was rather pissed when they closed the Sam's Club in my town... The closest one, now is about 45-60 minutes away from me (each way)... What little I might save by going there is easily offset by the cost of fuel to get there and back again.
They have a decent selection of restaurant supplies, and the quality is about the same on these as other aluminum stockpots I have seen. I prefer stainless, but starting with these until you are ready to commit more is completely reasonable, IMO. Unless I find a reason that aluminum is failing me, I have no plans on moving to anything else. Adding weldless fittings, etc, is easy enough that I can make these into reliable brew kettles at a fraction of the cost of a pre-made solution.
