Maybe I'll just get one for other work and keep my CRT connected for matching colors and correcting levels.
That's exactly what I thought when I introduced an Apple Cinema Display to join my three Sony Artisans in my studio. Within days, and I may mean two, every under-twenty-year-old assistant gravitated to the Apple Cinema Display, preferring to work on it for everything. When I argued, quite loudly, the genius benefits of matching prints to screen on the Artisan CRT, I was told they preferred the "guess work" associated with the ACD to the dull, unexciting image on my CRT screen. When the Artisans were no longer being turned on, I gave up and sold them. I've been LCD ever since.
I pity your budget of $500. For a truly decent screen, you'll need to at least double or triple that if you include tax, shipping and extended warranty. Prices haven't dropped that much. But these expenses and desire for quality are an individual decision. Saying good luck may be optimistic but I doubt your goal is realistic.