Hi Mandi and welcome to IIS
A Dobsonian is a Newtonion telescope, it is the mount that makes it a Dob. Other Newts that you see are usually mounted on an equatorial mount. For $5-600 you will pick up a nice basic 8" Dob. This is the ideal beginners scope, and a great all rounder for DSOs and solar system objects.
Going for an equatorial mount or a computerised scope usually means you compromise aperture (circumference) in exchange for the mechanics, and in this game aperture always wins!
Equatorials also take a bit of learning to get the most out of, whereas a dob is just put it together and start looking.
One thing though, scopes are very personal items, and if I was going to spend hundreds, I would definitely discuss it first.
Good luck with your choices
Malcolm