Whats the best SLR for the least amount of money?

Really I'm only starting out so I'm just trying to build up a portfolio, I want a DSLR, I'm only using a very cheap Fujifilm finepix s1700 at the moment, and its really not cutting it, its not too bad but i want to manually be able to focus it myself. I've got a lot to learn yet, so i just was looking for a decent camera that would suit a bigger (but also wont break the bank!) If you have any suggestions that would be brilliant thanks