It's easy to overthink this stuff. Fundamentally a knife is any piece of metal that you can cut with. Everything else comes down to muscle memory and personal preference.
For instance, I use German knives — not that they were made by Germans, but rather that they are made in the German style — because that's what I learned with. If you handed me a French knife I'd have to learn to mince garlic all over again. It's not that I think German knives are superior to French ones; I'm just more familiar, which makes me faster and safer.
As for the specific piece of equipment you choose, pretty much any knife will perform well if you take care of it. I bought my chef's knife when I was very young and thought "more expensive" naturally meant "better." I paid upwards of three figures for my Zwilling Pro S 8" knife … and you know what? I've used that thing nearly every day for more than twenty years and it's just as good as the day I bought it. Better, in fact, because twice a year I take it to my knife guy and he puts a fresh, better-than-factory edge on it for me. In between I hone the edge on a steel and it glides through meat and produce like a lightsaber.
Which brings me to my most important point: Don't sharpen your own knives. Knife-making (and sharpening is a part of making) is an art. People literally spend their whole lives on it. Find a good local knife guy you can trust and take your knives to him once or twice a year. He won't do any half measures; he'll use special equipment to grind down your knife and put a fresh edge on it. All you have to do is take care of it and hone it between sharpenings. It's so easy to buy some kitchen gadget and then totally ruin your knife's edge on it. Leave the major knife surgery to a pro, is my advice.
As far as actual purchasing, everybody I know is currently raving about the Victorinox 8" chef's knife with the plastic handle. They say it's really great given the price. I bought one myself to try out … only it's still sitting in the drawer. Every time I think I'm going to give it a try I end up reaching for my Zwilling instead. Man, I love that knife.