What power cord would you recommend?

I have no real experience with $500 cords, but your question relates to up to $300 and I do have a bit of experience there. My suggestion is this: buy 4-5 ft. of the cryoed JPS in-wall cable from Gene at Takefiveaudio, along with a cryoed Marinco 5266 male and 320 IEC. Also buy the adapter for $5 to burn the cord in on your refrigerator for a week or two. Total cost will be about $125 U.S.

I have 3 of these in my system (one on integrated, two on line conditioners). In the past I've owned, among others, the LAT cord, the Blue Circle BC 62 and the Cardas Golden (not the reference, but a cord that sells for $370 retail nonetheless). This DIY JPS cord (no soldering, very simple to make) is substantially better than the cords I listed above and will save you a ton of money.

I have no affiliation with Takefive, other than being a satisfied customer.

by far the best,virtual dynamics.there nite series.
and rick schultz is one of the nicest people you will
ever meet
al

Hands down, in that price range, the Audience
PowerChord. Simple stunning. Really shines in opening up the meds and highs. Very very musical.

Semwin, I really WANT to agree with you but can't on the issues of what to do about pc's/cables. You are absolutely correct about shoddy workmanship as well as seat-of-the-pants engineering by non-engineers (i.e. try it and see if it does anything). It would be nice to believe that the larger dealerships have it all together, but it just ain't so.. They are in business to sell what they can move in quantity and usually haven't heard any of the small brands (like Ridge Street, Empirical, Argent, Pure Note, Elrod etc that have current cachet on the internet). Also, you would think that the larger, better financially endowed cable companies would be better, but it's surprising how much bad workmanship shows up at $4000+ price levels. Talk to the companies involved and they will complain about how hard it is to hire good people... hence the lousy QA.
I have never heard a good answer to the issue of preserving independent entrepeneurship yet protecting the buyer. The only policing action that exists in high end is opinion - both end user and industry insiders. The second is fraught with politics, the first is fraught with ignorance. Internet experience among users may be the only guide, yet we are afraid to name names and the websites would censor any serious attacks on their sponsors anyway.
So I'm open to anyone's new thoughts here.

Why don't you try a DIY pc? Then you can begin to make an informed decisison on buying commercial power cords or more music.