Edit: Right now I am leaning towards the Casio CT-S500. I LOVE the extreme portability aspect, and the fact it uses AA batteries instead of D. And the strap option is amazing!
I am also considering the Casio CT-X3000.
Going to a music store soon to play both and see which I like better, but for anyone who has experience with both these models, I would love to hear your thoughts!
I had one as a kid I absolutely loved. Bought in the 90's. I can't remember what kind but I think it was either a Yamaha or a Kawaii. It had a bunch of fun voices like drums and guitar, and the sound was good. It lasted for decades, until something spilled on it and it finally went kapoot. I didn't play for a long time, and only recently got back into it when I was gifted a RockJam RJ5601 keyboard. It has served its purpose well, re-igniting the spark of passion for music and allowing me to finally dive into my life-long dream of writing my own songs. But I outgrew it pretty quickly. The sound quality is not very good, and it has zero touch sensitivity. The record option only lasts for 20 notes. And after like 1 minute of inactivity, it automatically reverts to the default settings which include a volume of 9. Startles me every time I forget to check the volume when I'm bouncing back and forth between it and Bandlab.
I am looking to upgrade to something similar to what I had as a kid. I don't play any other instruments, so having the onboard voices would be nice but it isn't a dealbreaker. The quality of the piano sound itself is more important. It doesn't have to sound like a baby grand, but it has to sound pleasant at least. I can't even use the piano setting on my keyboard now, it sounds awful.
I do want to be able to bring my keyboard with me to open mics and such eventually, so portability is important. Built-in speakers, a battery-powered option, and it not being too heavy are key here (I do not have a car and need to be able to take it on the train fairly easily)
I also want it to simulate playing a real piano well enough that I would feel comfortable sitting down at a real one and playing one of my songs. Right now I wouldn't even know how to adjust my songs for a real piano because I always play on a transposed synth bass setting (the only voice that sounds good).
I am located in the DMV, and am willing to travel anywhere Metro-accessible. Would prefer to buy used but am willing to buy new if need be.