printing alternatives??

When I want to print one of my astro images, I take a CD to my local Walmart
and have them do the printing. This is certainly cheap and I don't get
charged for any prints that don't turn out. However, there are a couple of
disadvantages- crowds and settings. To avoid crowds, I can sometimes go by
on weekdays but the settings issue always bugs me- what I produce and take
there does not come out on their screen like at home and I almost always
have to compensate brightness settings. However, much of the time, I'm in
the dark and end up printing extra pics at different settings. Well, I'm
thinking about doing the printing at home. Up until recently, I really
haven't liked what is available to the home user and that's why I chose the
Walmart route. With Walmart, there are things you can't really control
though that I could at home. So, for anyone who prints at home, what are
you using? I wouldn't want this to be tremendously expensive, but not so
cheap that I have to replace the $50 cartridge on a regular basis. Also,
what about photographic printing paper- good brands that will last?

Thanks for any thoughts,
JW