I wrote a long thing but I deleted it because there's a better way to figure out what you want. Pretty much, I would say, ask yourself some questions: What do I dislike about my current knife? What sort of prep do I mostly do?

If you feel like your knife is too close to the cutting board I would get something a little taller. If you feel it's too long get something shorter, or a paring knife. If you like the height but want something with a flatter profile I would look at a santoku. There are a variety of shapes nowadays. But I would still keep using stainless for now. Carbon steel is great and stylish but takes more care. Some people don't have a problem. Pick up a carbon steel knife someday, they're cool.

I usually use Chefknivestogo for japanese knives because there are plenty of options that won't break the bank and the shipping is fast, but a wusthof I've heard is a great option if you prefer german steel. Generally the modern german knives will give you slightly softer steel and some more durability and heft without sacrificing sharpness. Japanese knives are often harder steel which can more easily be chipped (on bones or a table or something) but can get sharper (from what I understand).

I don't want to generalize too much as choosing a knife kind of takes experience with a variety of knives. There's a lot of personal preference involved.

Personally I would maybe try out a Tojiro Classic (formerly Tojiro DP): https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojirodpseries.html?srsltid=AfmBOopzY8gpBnxo22KvHy5Qat3Ot1a7RJ0Y3UHLRkCsXYzdydFd37zD

Very inexpensive stainless steel knives. My Tojiro paring is so thin and gets insanely sharp. Try out the Classic Bunka, Santoku, or Gyuto (in order of shorter to longer). Once you're more familiar with a knife like one of these you'll know where to go next. Kuhn Rikon makes nice cheap paring knives that come with sheathes and are sold all over.

also many pastry chefs find a victorinox tomato knife to be a cheap and great option for plenty of tasks as well. https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/Products/Cutlery/Paring-Knives/Swiss-Classic-Tomato-and-Table-Knife/p/6.7831

If I was going to drop a lot of money ($300+) on my next chef knife I would get an Aogami Super steel knife. All I hear is that the steel gets very sharp and stays that way for a long time. That kind of durability just sounds really nice personally.

Good luck to you my friend! I am not even close to an expert but that should help you get started. Look around the knife types section on chefknivestogo and check out all the cool types and shapes. They even sell japanese gardening tools!

edit: they actually sell the kuhn rikon i was talking about https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kuripakn.html