Ask HN: SDR that's a step above the RTL2832U?

So I've been getting into SDR and really enjoying it. My biggest problem so far is trying to rig up some sort of accessible waterfall display to help me find interesting signals since I'm blind and the typical software is deeply inaccessible. I think I've managed something using the rtl_power program and a Python script but that's a discussion for another day.

What is the best hardware to purchase that's a step above the RTL2832U USB stick which should have both greater bandwidth and transmit capabilities for under $500?

So far I have seen the HackRF One, but according to my research this is built on a fairly ancient DSP platform and there's more modern stuff out there.

I'd prefer SoapySDR compatibility as that seems to be slowly becoming the standard library for accessing SDR hardware.

I'm not averse to ordering from aliexpress.

I'm actively working towards my amateur radio license and would love to be able to use my computer for both sending and receiving interesting digital signals and also chatting with the old farts using FM voice.

Thank you for your suggestions.