Hey Beau Steele,
Hope I can help a little in this regard - the listed breaking strains on a lot of braids are not reliable. Manufacturers in the early days of braid would under rate their breaking strains to counteract the poor knots that people coming from monofilament would tie.
This was to stop the impression that some would say "I'm never fishing braid again! The knot keeps slipping!"
In turn it ended up with people saying "Wow braid is so much stronger than mono! My 4lb braid could pull a truck out!"
So where does this leave us?
The amount of strands in a braid, for the most part, help to keep it circular in nature, like a hose. 8 strand braid is generally very round, and as a result casts well and costs more. A 4 strand braid in turn will be more 'tape like', and cheaper to produce.
In summary - the cheaper braids are more likely to be of fewer strands, and rated low for its breaking strain (ie 10lb test marketed as 4lb). The more expensive braids will be thinner, rounder and more accurately rated.
For your purposes, I would pick a 4lb braid from ANY manufacturer - even the thickest will be more than suitable for starting out.