I'd recommend looking for an old VitaMix on craigslist for around $150. I love the vitamix 3600, and IMHO it's a much nicer design than the current ones. From what I've heard the new ones are quieter, but the actual blending experience is about the same.

it's tall, but there's no reason you have to store the carafe on the blender when you're not using it, and when you are using it you can just pull it out in front of the cabinets.

You could also work on building yourself a time machine and going back a couple weeks.