[ltp] Too many choices!

[Cynthia]

I've been without a Thinkpad for much too long and was starting to
  shop for my next one, but realized I had no idea anymore...  I
  usually shop on eBay but I don't know which models to look at.  I
  need something that won't break the bank, but reasonably peppy, a
  spacious hard drive, not too old, and plays nicely with Linux.
  Usually my budget likes computers with no OS installed, but it
  wouldn't break my heart if I didn't have to do an installation.  
    My favorite Thinkpad was the X61S, which had no trackpad, just the
    trackpoint and a little mouse button cluster.  Before that, I
    always had a line in the start-up to disable the trackpad because I
    tend to touch it by mistake and do unintended things. My husband
    always did that tweak for me; he is gone now and I won't know how to
    do it...  

   I am just looking for recommendations for which models to search
   for.  If there's one with no trackpad but newer than my old one, I'd
   want to look at that first.  Ideas?  

Cindy Eliason