If you are looking to spend up to $1000 then I would eliminate the Earth and Sky series from your choice. They are a fine scope for the price (now discontinued) but are not in the same performance class as the mid-high ED style scopes available from Nikon, Pentax, Swaro, etc...

Best performance versus price scopes, in my opinion, are the Nikon Fieldscope ED, Pentax ED and Meopta S1-75. All offer ED/FL style glass which is essential at reducing the color fringing that is most noticeable at higher magnifications. I do not know if you are looking for a big 75-85 mm model or something more compact between 60-70 mm. If it is the latter then I think the Pentax ED is the best bargain around. You can get the scope body for around $430 at some internet retailers. You then have the choice of using any standard astronomical 1.25 inch eyepiece with it. There are literally thousands in both fixed magnifications and zoom models ranging in price from $20 all the way up to $400-$500. If you go that route then let me know and I can offer some very good and inexpensive suggestions.

Again considering price versus performance my second suggestion would be the Meopta S1-75. It also uses high end glass but does utilize only their own zoom and fixed eyepieces. Superb performance for a price of around $770. The company isn't as well known as some of the others mentioned but they are the largest optics manufacturer in Europe. Once they become more established in the US I am sure the prices will go up.

The Nikon Fieldscope ED series is also optically superb but my third recommendation out of the three mentioned because they are the most expensive. Still, they are signficantly less expensive than their Zeiss, Swaro and Leica counterparts without sacrificing anything to them optically.

Good luck with your search.