RANKED: The 7 best affordable smartphones in the world

But the reality is that most devices that top our lists fall well outside the range of what normal consumers will want to or be able to spend.

For example: The most premium smartphone in the world right now is probably an iPhone 6s Plus with 128 GB of onboard storage. That'll run you $949 - well over the cost of many quality laptops.

But go into most carrier stores looking for a budget device and you'll likely be shown a wide array of, frankly, crappy and bloatware-ridden lemons not worth the boxes they come in.

That said, there are some excellent phones out there that won't starve your wallet. I've ranked them here, taking into account both issues of cost and quality in an attempt to tease out their true dollar-for-dollar value.