I've heard good and bad about dreamhost. The good being their low prices...the bad being performance issues across the board. Trust me, those of us that have been around a while learned the hard way...cheap hosting comes at a price.
You'll find in time that hosting is one of the most important aspects of this business. When your sites are down...you're paying the price for that cheap host in a big way. I've gone with cheap hosting over quality twice in the past several years...both times it came back to bite me in the ass BIG time.
Colo-cation hosts this board as well as many of the members here...absolutely a top notch host
Worth noting is that frequently the better hosts can and will adapt their basic plans to the needs of their customers. Only way to find out is to contact them directly and see what you can work out with em.
Added: A board search should also return some recommendations for good hosts
