Cheap Domain Transfers?

All those domains I bought last year are coming up for renewal, particularly Register.com, which wants $38.00 to re-register. Crazy.

So, I want to transfer them to another Registrar. I see some prices in the $7.00 range, but the businesses sound unfamiliar and I wonder is they are legit.

1) What's the best/cheapest deal right now to transfer a domain name to?
2) Is there a difference in quality of a Registrar? Are there good ones, bad ones, etc...? If so, what makes a Registrar good or bad?

Thanks in advance.

Namecheap are really low priced and i think they have a SWITCH2NC coupon for discounted transfers, though i don't know the exact price, but it should be around $7~$9