Probrably too late but 1&1 hosting offers a domain for 6$/year I haven't tried them though... but I plan to soon.
Godaddy is horrible. So is 1&1. You need more proffesional services that offer their own API. Such as www.NameCheap.com Reliable host would be www.LiquidWeb.com or www.ThePlanet.com
From my experience the Planet is only good for small to smallish medium sized sites. They could not handle TH.net, we had all kinds of problems with them and had to move. They were our host prior to the new server and unfortunately due to our bad experiences with them I could not in good concious recommend them to anyone.