It does depend a lot on your budget. There are a few older tripods that are very good, and can be had cheaply. Many of the old Bogen / Manfroto Tripods are build like a tank. They are aluminum and a bit heavy, but they will last long after you have upgraded.
Check your local craigslist, and don't be afraid to make a offer, I've bought some legs with a ball head for $25.
Vangard, Slik and Dolcia make decent low cost tripods, far better than what you have, they won't fall apart, and if you hang a weight by a hook under them, they will stabilize nicely.
I have a Benro C4XX series, but even though its relatively low cost, its still over $400 for the legs, and for a good head, $500 more.
Watch out for the tripod height. You should not plan on cranking or raising the center column, and many tripods spec their height with the center post up. They are unstable that way. You should not have to bend over to use a tripod! Better to spend more and get one with longer legs.
Here is a example of a 62 inch tripod that is 51 inches high with the center column down Not useful unless you are pretty short.:
http://www.amazon.com/Dolica-AX620B100-62-Inch-Proline-Tripod/dp/B001D60LG8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1365825559&sr=8-3&keywords=tripod
The taller model is more expensive, but it has a column down height of closer to 62 inches (including head) which makes it fine for average height people.
http://www.amazon.com/Dolica-AX680P104-68-Inch-Proline-Tripod/dp/B001DIKUYE/ref=sr_1_4?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1365826538&sr=1-4&keywords=tripod
The manfroto 055PROB is 56 inches high with column down, a head and camera can add another 8 inches, so its high enough for all but really tall people (like my 6'8 son).
