You're right: revolvers are cooler.
I strongly suggest considering
used handguns. If you have $450 to work with and you're willing to look around a bit, you have the wherewithal to pick up a fine quality, used Smith or Ruger and a some ammo for it, as well. You might also find an "underpriced" Colt...maybe all good revolvers are underpriced, but collectors are pushing Colt prices up fast.
If it's possible that you'll have the budget for both in the next year or so, you might look for a good .22 revolver first, shoot it a lot, then buy a medium framed, good quality .38 Special or .357 Magnum after that. If you're sure that you want a defensive revolver right now, then go for a .38 or .357 first. You might very well pick up a .22 later on, when you get involved in shooting and want to improve faster and for less money.
Fair warning: the .22 revolver might cost you more than a .38 would. That's normal; you'll make it up in less expensive ammunition. If you plan to keep a gun for defense, you need to learn how to shoot it well. I'm not writing all of this to beat you up; other, newer people are probably lurking and learning just as you have done.
Keep in mind that newer is not necessarily better. New is just fine, but some of the old revolvers that are still on the market, as long as they're still mechanically sound, are very good indeed. Common, medium framed Smiths that you might encounter include the Model 10 (blued, .38Spl), 13 (blued, .357), 64 (stainless, .38) and 65 (stainless, .357). You probably already know that you can shoot .38 Special ammunition in a .357 Magnum revolver but that .357 Magnum ammunition won't fit in a revolver chambered in .38 Spl. This makes the .357 more versatile (more loads it can handle), but you'll often find .38s with lower prices because of that. There are other good ones, too. Ruger SP101s are out there, for example, and from what I can tell, they're built like tanks.
If you've been lurking, you already know a lot of the terms that are used to describe handguns.
Here's a thread on checking out a used revolver for mechanical soundness (this is a link).
For more general information:
have you read this thread? (another link)
There's a huge amount of information in that thread; don't worry about knowing it all right away. There might be things there that you'll find useful.
There's also Kathy Jackson's web site,
the Cornered Cat. Some folks have remarked that the color scheme there seems a bit "girly." Ha... I'm a 49-year old man who still learns something every time he goes there. Kathy's the managing editor of Concealed Carry magazine. Lots of people write well, but Kathy combines that with serious knowledge of defensive handguns.
From what you've written in your original post, if you held a (borrowed) gun to my head and said, "tell me what to buy right now for $450!" I'd say, "get a good quality, used Smith & Wesson or Ruger revolver in .38 Spl or .357 Mag, and some ammo." Then I'd try to convince you to get a good .22, as well.