We had a La Pavoni piston model in college with my roomies. It was about $200 in Italy. I checked, these things sell for a grand here now. Probably not worth it, but they are kitchen art and make good coffee.
On my last job we had Nespresso. The coffee was excellent. They are pricey at $.50 a shot, but the machines are good and relatively cheap. In an office environment they were perfect - everyone had their own choice of coffee and paid for it themselves. Clean up is simple, so a shared machine stays in good shape.
That's all I know about espresso!
George