What's a good, moderately-priced but still fairly fancy digital camera you'd recommend?

Get a cheap Canon and make yourself familiar with CHDK (google it).

get a camera with a big sensor--it makes all the difference, giving you great looking photos.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/technology/personaltech/23pogue.html

You don't really mention what are main criteria that you would use to define "good". Or how moderately-priced we are talking about. Is the ability to take quality photos in low light or of fast moving subjects more important than portability?

Like the other guys said, a larger sensor helps. In almost all cases, this is far more important than the Megapixel count.