Yes, there are better alternatives to flowmaster in the same price range...
I would have to say other than the japanese canon style mufflers, I would recommend the magnaflow race series 3" or the vibrant 3"...I know vibrant makes a stealth black 3" system as well. I have had flowmaster, dynomax and something else summit had - warlock or something and they all sounded too "ghetto".
If you want a japanese muffler, I would say the Apexi N1 3" and the blitz nur-spec 3" are both great and flow very well, but the Blitz nur-spec is mega loud...
One more thing about magnaflows, the ovals are quieter than the round ones - the race series used to come with a 3" silencer which absolutely hinders flow and constipates the car, but makes it quiet.
I would check ebay for magnaflow 3" race series or go to the performancepeddler.com website - he whores out magnaflow like no other. They also carry the 3" high-flo magnaflow cat if you want to be green and quieten it down a bit
Magnaflow part #'s for the 3" ovals are 14579 for polished stainless and 12579 for non-polished stainless, I didnt look up aluminized for rusting purposes...You will have to pay more for tips
Jon - hope my knowledge astounds you as well... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif