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Hey Jimmy, this is the single most important question that you will face in this hobby. Which scope do I buy?
Now the easy answer is this. A refractor under 5 inches is going to give very limited views of the planets. The Optics will be very poor in General and you will need to spend something in the order of at least $1500.00 to get something half decent with some of the features in glass technology that are now available. That is the image will not have a purple tinge or suffer the effects akin to a prism. Remember this is for purely optical viewing, if the scope does not work the way you want it, you will become very despondent.
Whereas a reflector of good quality can be obtained for around $500-$900 depending on the diameter. The larger the better. 10" is probably optimum and most likely the easiest to move around per light gathering capacity. On top of this, the scope will have a wider range of ability than a refractor.
Best of luck with your decision.
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