The best I've ever used was a grade 5 Kashmir willow or something, an Indian alcheapo made by DSC. I was able to pick the ball on the middle stump and flick over to square leg mid wicket region for six, leaving the bowlers in shock as they thought they had be bold.
One of the most difficult classy shot in cricket, IMO, is going down the wicket and play an inside out boundary over covers/mid off, to a pace bowler. I played that shot quite a few times, only with that bat in my hands.
Before and after that, I played with many, many bats with all different kind of specs, variation and price range - never found like THAT $20 one.
As I stated before, the major factor of a good bat is, "How it feels in your hands?".