The improvements I'm looking for over "normal" hosting is more reliability, consistent performance and competent tech support. Titan Internet in the UK used to be just that, but they got acquired and "things ain't what they used to be".
VPS's exist in that price range, but I don't need the control nor the hassle of self management. Then there's a huge leap between that and the managed VPSs of someone like Rackspace ($200 / month seems to be the starting price there).
Suggestions, anyone?