I am a retired teacher who plays the piano at an advanced intermediate level... played a lot when I was younger and did some professional playing. Anyway, I now have no room for an acoustic piano and would like to try a digital. I play primarily now for my own pleasure and occasionally for visitors in my own home. Mostly I play classics, but my tastes are eclectic. I have doing some research, but it is very confusing since I am so unfamiliar with digital instruments. (I am pretty much a whiz on my G4 laptop, though!)

My needs are:

price range: preferably not over $1500

similar touch to acoustic piano (although I have also played the organ and am familiar with that touch)

good piano sound (like the acoustic)

some fun bells and whistles that are not too complicated

something I could use for composing or maybe somehow record CDs with or?

something that looks like a nice piece of furniture would be great, but that is not totally essential.

I'd appreciate any recommendations or advice that anyone is willing to give.

First things first, try as many as possible before making a decision.

A few things to start with (in no specific order):
Yamaha P250
Roland RD-700
Kawai MP9500
Yamaha CVP series (CLP series for slightly better piano sound, but fewer bells and whistles)
Roland HP series
Korg SP500
various Kurtzweil models

(some of those may be just out of your price range, but would still be a good starting place)

One of the things that can change everything is wether you want external or internal speakers.

The end choice should boil down to a matter of personal preference.

Thank you so much! On the "Shootout" website, I preferred the sounds of the Kurzweil and Korg, but I have not tried playing either of them yet. The sound seemed crisper and more like an acoustic piano. The Yamaha sounded a bit more "blurry", if that makes any sense. I also like the Kawai. Hmmmm.... do I have a "k" thing going here?

I also forgot to add that I prefer internal speakers but also with the ability to use headphones for "after hours" playing.

I liked the touch of the Yamaha P models the most- the keys seemed heavier than other brands. The P models are stage pianos, though, so it doesn't look like nice furniture. The P120 comes with 2 recordable tracks, but I'm not sure if it stays in memory after you shut the piano off, and I haven't connected it to my computer yet. The P250 has a lot more options, but I think it's a little over your price range.