most bang for the buck on a 1.6 is the OBX no doubt.
Racing Beat stainless is probably the best looking USDM header IMO. It looks great once its broken in, it makes you reconsider putting some sort of heat shield on it.
I lucked out and a friend was selling his 1.6 Jackson Racing Ceramic header for $200 so I grabbed it. No leaks, clean shape. I wrapped it with some header wrap and it keeps things nice and cool underhood. Not so pretty with the wrap on it, but it does the job. MUCH cooler than stock underhood temps.
I have read more than a few things on .net about JR headers cracking though....
I have no knowledge on any JDM headers though