Ear Buds

I've typically been using $20 ear buds for my iPod but never considered them for serious audio. Today I saw some Klipsch ear buds for about $200. Can you get serious audio quality once you move above the disposable quality level? I'm thinking that ear buds are probably the most frequently used speakers on the planet and maybe I should invest in some. Not ready to drop $200, but are there any under $100 that are good?

I have a pair of Etymotic Research hf5 in-ear earphones. They're $129 list. Inherently noise-cancelling by design rather than electronics. I used them when flying. Beat the crap out of the Bose headsets they handed out on the plane. The only downsides are: 1) getting used to them, and 2) they can block ear moisture (which turns into "wax") after extended periods of time.
 
But the sound? Amazing!
 
http://www.etymotic.com/c.sumer/earphones/hf5.html

I've never liked ear buds and always found that they were either too thin or too bassy, until I tried these:
 
http://www.amazon.com/DUNU-DN-1000-earphone-dynamic-drivers/dp/B00GH752AI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439384549&sr=8-1&keywords=dunu+dn-1000
 
They made me a believer. They are hybrids in that they have both dynamic drivers (for bass) and Balanced Armature drivers (for mids and highs). I have always appreciated good quality speakers and headphones, and these "ear buds" are great sounding.
 
And no, I don't own any stock, lol.
 
Regards,
Dan

If you really want to go big (~$1000, yes I said thousand) look at THESE
 
True In Ear Reference Monitors. I love mine.
 

for "ear buds" I bought custom fit SE-215's from this place:
http://www.inearcentral.com/
 
I used the mold package Rob sent to me to make molds of my ears.  They take a while for them to turn around (mine took about 10 weeks), but they were well worth it.  I only use them for live playing with our Aviom system.
 
normal "ear buds" will not stay in my ears at all.  they slip out very quickly.

I'm a receint convert to in ears for live band use. I paid $99 CAN. for the the Shure SE 215's. 
They are only the entry level buds but I'm impressed with the hi fidelity for such a tiny gizmo. 
They come with a bunch of different sized rubber ear plugs so you can find the size that is comfortable with a little trial and error. 
While I find that the sound is excellent for monitoring purposes I don't find them that great for just music playback. They are mostly midrange. You can hear the bass but it's certainly not the device for checking low end.
For vocals and guitars while playing on a loud stage they cut through perfectly and with the added benifit of blocking out the stage volume. So the result is less listening fatique and hearing damage. We are finding that it has improved vocal pitch and the balacing of harmonies for the band.
The days of fussing with floor wedges is history.