Manfrotto for something very good but naturally expensive (don't know exactly how prices now stand but expect to pay at least 200-300 for a good one with a nice head).
Gitzo for something even better and even more expensive (it is French, by the way). One of the main differences these two brands have is the different design on how the legs deploy. People say the Gitzo design is way better but the Manfrotto one is good enough.
I have two Manfrottos and two heads and they're all very well worth the $$$ I paid. I also have the 'table' one, very nice indeed. The mistake I made was that when I bought those the salesman asked me whether I'll be doing macro/close-ups plan view, so that I should buy the model "055", and I said "No". Now I really want sometimes to make my SOTD picture by looking at the setup from above and straight down and I cannot...
So check what your tripod can do.