You can find fast and/or high quality glass for under $1000, it's just more difficult for F mount than EOS. For some reason Nikon refuses to make good f/4 glass (12-24 being the exception). I'm a big fan of the Tokina, from what I've seen it's optically equivalent to the Nikkor, which costs twice as much. I've handled the Tokina and really liked the feel too. As a side note, Hoya has a stake in Tokina, and they're the biggest glass manufacturer in the world, which should tell you something.
The Nikon 80-200 is another stellar lens, new they run about $900, but you can find clean used copies for $500. In the normal zoom range, the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is popular, and goes for about $400 new.
Primes are another option, although there isn't a whole lot in the way of good wide-angles for crop sensors. I've been happy with my 24, which runs $200-300 used.
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