Good luck with the "Great phones" idea.
Cricket will never get the "great" phones... because they don't subsidize their phones like verizon, sprint, etc. do. Not many people would pay $600 for a Cricket XV6700, but that's what it'd cost if cricket decided to add that phone to their lineup.
Unfortunately, unless you mod phones from other providers, you'll most likely be stuck with bargain basement crap from cricket.