I'm a hobbiest just starting out, so I really don't want to throw a lot of
money into a mill for a few years.

I've been looking at low end mills (some import, some domestic) and one
thing that I've read about is freeplay on the shafts. Most that i've
fiddled with seem to have almost 1/4 turn of the shaft before the gears will
start moving the table. Is that normal?

For less than $1000-$1500 what low end mills are 'pretty good'?

Thanks