In terms of a good mailing server, I have had some success with a cheap 15$ Virpus VPS. Expect some downtime and shoddy support, and the possibility of being on a bad node, but it's not horrible as a start - I was pulling 24,000 a day. The fact it comes with 3 IPs is good for rotation if your double opt-in lists are full of complainers, and Virpus doesn't care about their false complaints as much as some other providers. ;P
I'm certainly capable of setting up a server with rotating IPs, SPF, rDNS, DKIM signing and the option of multiple MTA with volume limiting. If anyone wants to work something out, where I handle the server administration and you handle the lists and messages, I'd definitely be interested. Feel free to shoot me a PM with your messenger of choice, or hit me up on Skype through my profile.