definitely a contendah!
best bang for the buck would be a used Canon S-90
there is an Olympus to look at also - I was just looking at a recent dpreview article while talking a friend long-distance - he is way into photography - at the last stop before falling into the trap of going pro...
do you want a camera that fits in a pocket?
I promise these will be superseded during the next 12 months, tho not obsoleted...
ok, here is that article:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2367736880/roundup-enthusiast-zoom-compact-cameras