You don't mention how much money you have to spend, but I'll presume its under 2K and you want to buy new rather than secondhand..
Under $1000 it's very hard to pass by the Skywatcher ED80.
They run around $700 New and around $400+ used depending on accessories.
The optics are crisp and virtually colour free.
In this price range, there is also the Meade 5000 80 Apo (also sold as the Explore Scientific 80 APO and the North Group 80 APO and a few others actually).
At $1000 - $1800 things get more complicated.
But all-in, my vote for best VFM scope goes to the Astro-Tech 106 APO (sold as a Sharpstar 106 from the Asian distributor). At $1500 it's outstanding value for a 4' Apochromatic scope. Very well made and you'd need to spend at least another $1500 to match it's optics.
There are, however, dozens of excellent scopes out there as well:
The William Optics (WO) 90mm & 110 Megerez, the AT90EDT, the Skywatcher f9 100mm APO, the Orion CF80ED.
It's worth confusing yourself a little and reading some of the reviews on
www.cloudynights.com .
Good luck with your prezzie!
PJH