The answer to almost any question is "It depends" - let me elaborate:
If you will be running a decent, middle-of-the-road processor, and if you do not intend to overclock it - then almost any decent, middle-of-the-road board will work.
If your aim is to overclock - then you want a board with a more robust Power-Management scheme that you will only find on the higher-end boards (some of the mid-scale boards will let you achieve "mild" overclocks, but you have to choose carefully.
I DO believe that at least in part, you get what you pay for. The better boards generally utilize higher-quality components that are more likely to last longer.
There are some good "values" (bang-for-the-buck) out there - but finding them requires some research time (read the forums & reviews that are not on a Sales site - but do not treat any single source as "gospell") You don't want to spend money, find that what you spend your hard-earned dough on falls short, and then need to spend more moolah. The way to avoid this is to spend wisely up front.
I would not "cheap-out" too much - remember that what you buy is already obsolete or on the brink of it. Better stuff (but not "bleeding-edge" Status-Priced components) will let you keep it around longer and be a better value in the long run.
I generally recommend going one of two ways:
#1 = Buy decent mid-scale stuff and plan to upgrade every 2 years (a good case and power supply can stay-around MUCH longer).
#2 = Buy near state-of-the-art, and you can probably get 4-5 years out of it before it falls too far short of being able to run the latest software.