I could go on for a while about my opinion of saws relative to the Husky 55. Not a bad saw, neither is the 029/290 that are very similar in size, power & weight. Of course there are pro saws that cost more and have better power and weight specs but it sounds like you want cheap. I recently picked up an echo cs-490 and I really like it. I've seen them locally for sale new on CL, lots of CS-400s and some 590s as well. I saw a brand new CS-590 in the box for 350. If it were me I'd have bought that saw in a heartbeat. 13.2lb and 3.89HP and can run a 24" bar. If you want a little lighter I'd personally go with the CS-490, or I'm sure there are stihl/husky equivalents, in fact I know there are. The MS250 and the Husky 435, I don't like either of those saws as much though for one reason or another as far as design. I've got a Husky 55 and I put new seals and a new piston & cylinder on it when I got it used and I've never really had a lot of luck with it. Always anemic, never been able to get much power out of it. Maybe it's just a turd and other 55s run better I don't know. I sure like that 490 out of the box though at bout 11lb and right up there in power with the MS250 and you can get it with a 20" bar. If I had to pick just one saw to have, it would be my old 029, an 039/390, or either the 490 or 590 echo, unless you need to hit some pretty big wood but if you are lookin at 55s then sounds like probably not.
You want something dirt cheap to get the job done, find a good running old Pro Mac 610, they are everywhere and have great power for the $ you are likely to pay for it. Heavy as hell though.
I got a deal on an old Husky 288... I've had to put way too much money into parts though and I still don't have it running. Still need to split the case and do a bunch of stuff. A 372 of course if you could find one has great power. It's a lot to lug around all day though, as is the 610 or anything else that heavy. Heck just a 290 blows out my delicate wrists swinging it around all day. I got s****y arthritis though. But then you could just keep going and save up for a 395! My god does that saw have insane power. I've seen a few beat up but running ones go for pretty cheap over the years around here on CL. Just depends on how heavy a saw you want to wave around, how much you want to spend, and how much time you are willing to put into fixing one up I guess.