Budget 7.62x39. The SKS. $549.
As budget as you can make it. Only go for this option if you're dirt fucking poor. This is a good, extremely reliable rifle in it's stock configuration. There are a lot of aftermarket upgrades such as lighter stocks with picatinny rails on the foregrip, picatinny rails that fit in the rear sight spring and takedown pin, and other upgrades. Detachable duckbill magazines. Don't bother. You will face nothing but accuracy problems from most aftermarket stocks due to poor bedding, zero shift from most optics mounting rails (aside from drill and tap ones), and feeding issues from the detachable magazines. This was my choice of weapons when I was in the economic state equivalent of trailer trash. Take it from me. Either leave the rifle stock, or use the money you'd spend on "upgrades" to get something a little better.
Slightly Higher End 7.62x39. The SKS-D. $1,000-$1,800.
The same as the SKS, except these were factory made to take AKM magazines. This gives you the option of having detachable magazines that are very reliable. The same problems with aftermarket stocks and optics mounting systems exist. To me this is more of a curiosity.
Higher End 7.62x39. The Type 81. $1,300-$2,000.
This is the closest thing to an AK you can get here. The LMG version is very big and heavy while the rifle versions are fairly compact and of reasonable weight. So I would recommend those. They are extremely reliable, they do not care what kind of ammo you put through them, and the upgrades made by SIGMACO are very high quality and allow for rugged, lightweight M-LOK foregrips, new stock options, pistol grips, and the capability of adding AK-style side rails to the receiver (some models make this easier than others) so you can attach things like the RS Regulate dovetail optics mount, which retain zero no matter how many times you take them off and reattach them. The only problem I have with these is getting the magazine in can take some practice, and also the magazines are proprietary, so despite looking like AK magazines, they're not. Also be careful when shopping for these. Some have bent barrels. Otherwise, I strongly recommend this.
High End 7.62x39. The CZ Bren 2. $2,999.
If you are dedicated to 7.62x39, and have the money. This is what you want. These are restricted, so you need your RPAL. They come in a 9 and 11 inch barrels (hehehe) which is actually very good for 7.62x39 because they do not suffer from much velocity loss from shorter barrels like 5.56 does. There is no need for upgrades. You already have your rails, your M-LOK, your folding stock, your muzzle thread, etc. Ready to throw whatever you want on it. My only warning about this choice is that you should really only use brass cased ammo. Otherwise you might run into a rare issue.
There are other choices that I have purposefully excluded due to severe reliability and durability issues. Those are the M10x and the WK181c. Avoid them.
Budget 5.56. The Kel-Tec SU-16. $899.
This thing is kind of the equivalent of the SKS-D but with a few added bonuses. It takes standard 5.56 AR magazines, it already has an optics mounting picatinny rail, and it's foregrip can fold out to become a bipod. This is an extremely lightweight gun, that operates on a similar long-stroke gas piston system to the AK, so reliability should not be a concern. Some or all models also fold in half at the stock. This is a solid recommend from me if you're genuinely broke.
Slightly Higher End 5.56. The Kel-Tec SU-16E. $1,099.
The same as the previous entry, but with a collapsible stock, a pistol grip, a threaded muzzle, and more rail space on the bottom of the foregrip so you don't have to get as creative with your weaponlight mounting. It loses the extreme lightweightedness, the folding, and the built in bipod. But I believe it is worth it for the better ergonomics and upgrades over the baser model.
Higher End 5.56. The Crusader Arms Templar, or the Black Creek Labs SRV2 Siberian. $1,599 or $1,699.
The Templar and Siberian both take AR magazines, they're both derivatives of the AR-180 platform, and both are extremely similar. The two of them are different enough that I will compare the advantages of either. The advantages of the Templar is the default rail height on the buffer tube stock option (not shown here) is far better and you'll be much more comfortable with lower mounted optics. Another advantage is it's quality control is good, and you can be certain you'll be buying a reliable rifle. The advantages of the Siberian is it's extremely good accuracy, capable of shooting sub-MOA with some types of ammo, generally lighter grainage, and it is also lighter. The Siberian does have disadvantages, though. It's foregrip can get fairly hot from prolonged shooting sessions, and BCL also had some early quality control issues, so it's possible you might run into reliability problems if you get unlucky with the batch your rifle is from.
High End 5.56. Sterling Arms R18 MK2 or CZ Bren 2. $2,699 or $2,899-$3,199.
The R18 is potentially the best AR-180 derivative rifle ever made. Extremely reliable with a rifle length gas piston that is nigh on unbreakable. Very accurate, has a multitude of options, a perfect AR-style rail height, and doesn't leave you wanting for anything. It isn't as lightweight as the Siberian, and potentially not quite as accurate depending on the ammo. But those are the Siberian's best traits. This rifle has no quality control issues unlike most other Canadian made AR-180s, and it will not die on you, especially if you take care of it. The CZ Bren 2 is much the same as the 7.62x39 version. These are currently fielded in the Ukraine war and are proving themselves a capable platform. These are restricted and come in an 8, 11, and 16.5 inch barrel length.
I purposefully excluded a lot of rifles from the 5.56 category. Most of them Canadian-made AR-180s. Only the Siberian and R18 are Canadian AR-180s worth considering. Under no circumstances should you ever get any of the Kodiak Defense or Wolverine Supplies rifles. Never. If you're an American AK lover reading this, they're like our Century Arms but for AR-180s. I'll talk about the jew rifle in the .308 category.
Higher End .308. Crusader Arms Crux. $2,000-$2,800.
If you're on a budget, you're not going to get a good semi-auto .308 rifle. Go for a used Savage 110 bolt-action or a Ruger American Predator. This is the same as the Templar, but in .308.
High End .308. IWI Tavor 7, Famae SG-542, B&T APC. $3,499, $4,500, $6,035
Where do I even begin? The jew gun works well enough, has a low profile due to it's bullpup design, is reliable and accurate enough, and is cheaper than the other two. It's flaw is it's fairly heavy for what it is. These other two guns, while yes they're good, reliable, accurate, have all the bells and whistles, are just really damned expensive. There aren't that many semi-automatic .308 options for Canadians.
Black Creek Labs is coming out with the SRV2 Grizzly. Basically just the Siberian but beefed up and chambered in .308 so I'm waiting for that personally.
Time for a wild card.
Unironically the 7.62x54r SVT-40. $1,500-$1,800.
If you get a decent condition model from 1940 or 1941, they come with a rail to attach a genuine or reproduction scope mount without the need to bubba it. This is an incredibly powerful rifle capable of good combat accuracy even with corrosive surplus ammo. You get yourself one of these with the PU scope on it, ziptie or duct tape a weapon light onto it. You got yourself a battle rifle. It's heavy as fuck. But hey. This gun was made when men where men, and women were, too.