Whatever you choose, make sure that it can be serviced easily (and well) in your area. It seems every mid- level has success and horror stories on this board, but you already know that.

If you have not considered induction ranges, there are numbers of good choices for less than $2k. But maybe you've already looked at induction and decided against it? There are plenty of of "good" gas ranges. Every range represents a mix of design and engineering choices. Some mixes may suit you better than others. Likewise, what you consider a "good gas range" may be different from from what others may prefer. Preferences vary. What suits somebody else may not match your preferences. If you want generic advice, you can go to the likes of Consumer Reports. I'm guessing you are asking your questions here because generic advice was not helpful enough for you to match stoves to your preferences. All this being a long way of explaining why you may get better advice here if you can be more specific about what you are looking for. For example, are you looking for a standard freestanding range or are you looking for a slide-in (meaning that it has all controls down front and no backsplash/riser in the back)? Do you need/want/care about features like Sabbath modes and oven probes? Do you need/want to use multiple big pots at a time? Maybe you need/want to have two 12" fry pans going at once? Maybe you don't care about that? Are you planning on using a big pancake griddle that spans a couple of burners? Do you boil large amounts of corn? Do you make pasta in big pots or small ones? If you use a large stockpot --- say, a 12 or 20 quart model --- you may appreciate so-called "power burners" with triple rings. But, if you will be using a 4 quart saucepan for your pasta, the big power burner's flames will be wider than your pan and the large burner's heat mostly goes to waste. Do you much care about convection in the oven? If you bake a lot of cookies or biscuits, you might appreciate the Frigidaire gas ranges which have a third (electric) oven element around the convection fan? Do you frequently or rarely use a broiler? Do you need a larger or smaller oven? Sizes range from under 4 cu. ft to over 6 cu. ft. That matters to some folks and not others. Do you care about having a warming drawer beneath the oven? Does your area have a problem with power outages? If so, realize that some gas stoves have everything --- including the stovetop burners --- run through electronic controllers. Those can't be lit with a match the way other models can. Consider that a lot of ranges now come in stainless steel-like finishes. Many have black enameled tops. Those can be hard to clean. Some hate that look. Do you have preferences on this? This is a short way with a potentially very long list . It may not have even touched on what is of interest to you. So, if you can be a bit more specific about your criteria, preferences, needs, wants, etc., you'll probably get correspondingly more detailed and more helpful recommendations.

We live in the Pacific Northwest and are about 100’ from salt water. All of our appliances are stainless steel and have never had any problems. Like you I wondered about that when we built 18 years ago. Many of my friends who live nearby also have stainless with no problems. I think maybe that homes are so much tighter these days that it’s not the problem it once was. That being said my brother who has homes in the Bahamas gave up on stainless. Even his white appliances are rusting. Maybe it’s the high humidity there. Best of luck to you.

We have a GE, with no backsplash for a sleeker look, controls in front. Controls are on the vertical, not horizontal or sloped, making it a lot easier to clean. Got it two years ago from an indie dealer on a holiday sale, for about $350 less than Best Buy or Lowe's "sale" prices. This model has more features (wifi????). BB/Lowe's had it for $2100, we paid $1750, list at the time about $2600. So far, it's been an outstanding range. https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-Profile-30-Smart-Slide-In-Front-Control-Gas-Fingerprint-Resistant-Range-with-No-Preheat-Air-Fry-PGS930YPFS