What is the best affordable "everyday" lens for the Canon Rebel XT (8mp) Camera?

By "everyday" I mean a lens that is versatile and could be used in most camera cases. Something not overly wide and not overly telescopic, but in the middle (ex. 17mm - 85mm or 24mm-85mm). I want the one that takes the best quality pictures (for the money) and don't really care if the lens is cheap and or plasticy. I'm on a budget so I'm looking for one $550 or less. Thanks a lot!!!

The Tamron recommended by our future first husband looks like a nice lens. I use the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 and find the large aperture and overall range of the lens to be quite useful. I've got a couple million more pixels to play with than you do, though, and you might appreciate a little more on the telephoto end.

Check out the Canon 17-85.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Revie... True, it doesn't open to f/2.8, but the image stabilization (IS) should help you use the lens in similarly lit situations. B&H Photo (available through Yahoo! Shopping) have the lens for $515, so it's within your budget.

then get the regular kit lens. There's nothing else out there that's better for cheaper.

If you are willing to spend $500, I really like the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 Dx lens. It's very high quality and much brighter than the kit lens or the Canon version which is an F4.

I have just the lens for you

most common one is like an 18-200 although remember that there is a 1.5x multiplication when you use lenses on a digital camera...so you loose your wide angle and you gain telephoto...

also the lens really depends on what you shoot..IE...sports photography...or landscapes..

For an everyday lens theres the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5. I mean its not an improvement over the 18-55mm interms of aperature but it does have great reviews on it. I use the L verson, the 24-105 and the range is great for an everday purpose lens. The aperture isnt the friendliest in the world depending on what you do, but its the range is great.