Muting or chuffing while spinning the VFO or mashing the tune up/down buttons is a deal killer for me as a DXing machine, although it would be fine as a backup for travel or when I know the frequencies I plan to monitor. I had a decent shortwave portable that muted while tuning, but gave it to a family member who was vaguely interested in shortwave but wouldn't consider it a hobby.
But it's hard to get excited about most portables made the past 10 or so years if they cost more than $50. I bought all of my portables in pawn shops and thrift stores back in the early 1990s for less than $100. That was just after the first Gulf war, and the initial hype over listening to international news via shortwave had worn off. Folks who got into it as a fad quickly grew tired of the work involved in DXing, and the static. So it was fairly easy to find bargains in shortwave portables, and occasionally even in tabletop receivers and some ham radio sets.
I think the most I paid was $75 for a Sony ICF-2010, which is still my most-used radio for shortwave.
My most-used radio is a Magnavox D2935 (also sold by Phillips under the same model designation). Paid $25. Best audio of any portable I've found, including some Grundigs. But I mostly use it for FM. It's even useful for FM DXing, which none of my other portables is particularly good for.
But while the telescoping whip is outstanding for FM and HF, it can't be completely disabled to use an external antenna, and it includes only screw posts for Hi-Z wire with spade lugs. The built in ferrite rod is large and also very good for MW DXing. But "portable" is just a suggestion with the D2935. It's large, heavy, and wants a full complement of six D cells, which don't last long in the power hungry radio. So it's mostly been my indoor everyday radio for 30 years or so. Occasionally I'll take it outdoors on batteries and it performs well, although it's necessary to tend the drifty BFO knob.
I had a bunch of Sangean and others, mostly under the Radio Shack moniker. They were all good, but I sold or gave them away after getting the Sony ICF-2010. Among the largish portables, the ICF-2010 may still the best ever made.