OK, so I am going to go off the list here, and say you should get a Yugo. Now you are going to have to go to y Kragujevac, Serbia to pick them up so bring plenty of bribe money, a flak jacket and a passport. Now there are several benefits to this car. First you should be able to afford 3-12 with your price range so you can get a few spares or lots of parts cars depending on your outlook. Second, all the mechinically repairs you will have to do will make you a "car guy" heck you will probably be able to build one of these blindfolded in the dark from nothing but a scrap of raw steel. Third you will be getting a lot of exercise with all the walking/pushing you are going to have to do owning one of these high quality machines. and last but not least if you ever need to haul a load of goats you dont have to worry about your interior, its a yugo, it will be ok, plus you have about 6 more spare sets of seats. Other cars you should consider, the AMC gremlin, the Le car, or possible a donkey.
Seriously though, the most important thing is that you like the car. I have known people who had extremely reliable cars they didn't like and they made minor problems seem like major ordeals and I have known people who have had crappy cars (a chevet in one case) and they made major repairs seem like minor inconveniences. If low to no repairs is a major selling point to you consider the Japanese car companies first, with toyota and honda topping that list though I have heard suburus are good as well. American cars I would stay away from for the most part, GM and Ford are about equal, though you can find good and bad cars made by both. Which is better in this case usually depends on who is talking and which they like better in my opinion. Korean made cars, well, these are worse than American made cars and thats saying something. Of the cars on your original list I would go with the Focus as it is one of the better cars made by Ford and I believe they have worked out most of the issues in the later models. Again though I will agree with others who have said do your research and make sure you like the car before you buy it.
MP3 conectivity can be installed for cheap, dont consider that, heck you can buy the car kits for ipods etc. pretty cheap that play through the existing stereo even if you dont want to replace it.