I still have the old ass Microsoft sidewinders, both the mini version and the pro version.The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro's the go to entry level joystick, it's cheap but very reliable, mines lasted almost a decade and still works just about perfectly. Obviously doesn't have the most features and not super high quality, but if you just want something that's simple and reliable you can't go wrong with it.
Still wonder why Microsoft gave up on making joysticks and let logitech take over the market. The Xbox controller is way better than its logitech counterpart.