So last year i got through the winter with General Altimax Arctics. Best bang for your buck. I paid 115 per tire. Some caveats though. There is a little break in period of a few miles where they are squirrly on dry asphalt. Temperatures higher than 40f make the tires squishy, to the point where it felt like i was driving on pillows, but these are true snow tires, not performance winter tires.
Fyi i live in NJ and survived that barrage of blizzards.
