I had a Behringer Xenyx a few years ago that was better than anything I had in the 90s. And not to the stereotype of the "cheap" Behringer quality, they're up to par these days.
(Sure, it's no SSL/Neve, but better than any demo/home studio had in past decades - I remember the days of Fostex/Tascam 4track cassete tape recorders/mixers).
You can get analogue polysynth for sub-$500, moog mini clone for $250, a great 16 channel mixer for $200 and so on...