Brew Kettle Quality

I am about to make the upgrade to AG, and looking at the brew kettles online, they are all very expensive. Do I really need a $200-300 kettle, or can I just buy a sturdy 10 gallon stock pot?

It seems like the presence of the spigot and/or built-in thermometer really ups the price. I have a good clip-on thermometer, and I don't think I need the spigot. I have an immersion chiller, and I usually strain the chilled wort through a nylon mesh bag to keep the chunky stuff out of the fermentation bucket.

Am I a sucker to pay the big bucks, or will I regret going cheap on my kettle?

Depends on where and how you usually brew. A thicker gauge heavy kettle isnt really necessary if you brew inside on the stove with extract. If you brew all-grain outside on a high output burner, then you want something thicker.

I use a stainless steel keggle most of the time, i can brew 10 gallon all-grain outside on my burner without a problem. However it is heavy and hard to lug around by myself. They can be found for around $80-90 shipped on ebay and sometimes cheaper online. Cut the top, drill a hole and find a kit to put a spigot on it. These take a little more work on your part, but you'll have something seriously sturdy that will last.

Thinner gauge are fine too. My buddy has a $80 10 gallon kettle from Williams brewing that I like to use because I can do 5 gallon AG on my outside burner and can move it around much easier.

The blichmanns are the best of both worlds, but you're going to shell out the big bucks.

I just bought one from SPIKEBREWING. I am really happy with it thus far, and it was very reasonably priced.