I’m firmly in the charcoal camp and will never have anything else. I grill a lot.
I don’t now how much you wish to spend, but if $500-ish is not out of line, I’d encourage you to check out these Webers:
They offer the best of all possible worlds: Charcoal with a built-in propane lighter to start the coals. Mine is a much earlier model. I’ve had it since 2007 and it’s still going strong. Love that thing!!