I agree with your point on the value of cheaper CRT's. I was warned off them as vision-destroyers. Then last year i rented a cabin for August and lugged a 21 inch CRT to Michigan as part of a minimalist trading setup. No adverse effects on my vision, or fatigue, or any of the other hysterics.
By the way, a cheaper and better choice is available in TV's. Sony's "Super Fine Dot Pitch" HDTV (a CRT), will blow away 95% of the flat panels that people buy jus' so they be stylin'. See CNET review. And, it's 1600 dollars. I wouldn't pay more for a lower-performing product even if I had 50 million dollars in the bank. Makes no sense.