Looking for an amateur level flash for Nikon D3000?

Wondering if any of you photographers could help me…

I'm looking for a flash for my Nikon D3000 dslr camera. I was really looking into the Nikon Speedlight 600; however, I believe Nikon has archived the item (it's available on ebay and sites of that sort but it's about double the price it was original being sold for). Based on your experiences with flashes, what's the next best flash I can get? I'm looking for a TTL flash (I heard that's the best one to start off with) that's not ridiculously expensive (I'm really looking to spend about 300, 350 $ max). I'm not a professional-grade photographer, so I"m really just looking for a nice flash to begin with. Any suggestions would be great!

Really there are NO amateur level anything when it comes to photography.

There are entry level cameras and flash units, but that term really means that the equipment is less expensive than the equipment that some professional photographers use. In the end, you need learn how to balance ISO, shutter speed and lens aperture. Flash, just requires you to buy a TTL compatible flash unit for your specific brand camera.

The SB600 is a good flash and from time to time Nikon sells refurbished cameras, flashes and lenses on their website.

Look at the SB700 because with it you can practice using Nikon's Creative Lighting System (CLS). Look on page 162 of your user manual.

Amateur level flash? If you don't know how, spend more for TTL compatibility. It's not surprising to see flash guns that cost more than the camera itself. The best are the ones that have the same brand as the camera for best compatibility. Generally, you get the most expensive flash you can afford for the most lighting you can have. You can tone down strong light but you can't add to it when shooting out there.

If you don't have the money but know how to use both camera and flash manually, get any generic $50 or so flash you can lay your hands on.