] I've read a bunch of reviews on the AirPort and it sounds really good....I really don't mind paying the extra bit to get something that is good quality. 
I've got an Apple Airport Extreme base station at my office, but a Linksys WRT54G at home. The Airport was easier to set up and use with my Mac...just plug and play...truly that easy. But really, the Linksys wasn't a whole lot more difficult. More like plug, run some software, and play.
Now the big difference was that the Linksys, while it supports Mac, really came from a Windows world so the CD in the box, etc was all Windows-oriented. As I've mentioned elsewhere, you can easily configure the Linksys by simply plugging your Mac into it and going into the admin screens. You access them via a browser and it's the same on a Windows box as it is on a Mac. But the Linksys has some software that is Windows-specific that guides you through the process in a wizard kind of way. You have to do it a bit more manually using the Mac.
So long and short:
If this is your first laptop and wireless router configuration EVER, I'd recommend the Airport Extreme simply because it'll be easier to set up and use out of the box with your new Mac.
If you've got even a wee-bit of experience, or a friend with same who you can bribe with a beer or two, then save the $$ and go with a Linksys, D-Link or similar from Best Buy, etc. Spend the extra $$ on a nice case for your Mac or a book on how to use OSX or even some software. Because once you get past the initial installation and setup, the two boxes won't operate that differently from one another.
Just my two cents....feel free to ask me anything...love to help if I can. Email is forum handle at yahoo.com.
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