I might, however, skip the any 50mm f/1.4 that is also around $300, because I believe the cheaper $100–200 f/1.8 versions tend to be a better deal.

Not the case in the Nikon world. The 50mm 1.4D is a significantly better lens than the 1.8D, and they’re about $80 apart on eBay.

If you have a Nikon body with a focus motor (all FF DSLRs, plus D7000–7002) The ‘D’ series lenses will autofocus just fine. The only downside is that the coatings aren’t as good and the rear element is designed for non-reflective film rather than reflective sensors so veiling flare’s a bit worse if you have off-axis light on the front element. And none of them have image stabilization, so you’ll need a tripod for anything over 200mm. They’re plenty sharp enough for 24MP sensors, and are not exactly an issue on the D800E/850.