Which lasers that you can buy that are the most bang for the buck and are compatible with lightburn out of the box in the United States
That would depend quite a bit on your budget and what you plan to use it for. Best bang for buck if you only want to engrave images onto small-ish objects is quite different than if you want something that will cut relatively quickly.
For the “generic” answer, a K50 with a Ruida controller is about $1500 delivered, qualifies as “table top” and would do good work both engraving and cutting: https://www.toolots.com/50w-co2-laser-engraver-and-cutter-12-8-usb-port-fda-certified.html
For scale:
A K40 with a Cohesion3D LaserBoard added in would be about $600, and the quality of results would be similar. Slightly less cutting power, no built-in air assist, a little more effort to tune, not quite as “out of the box” and no movable Z axis, but less than half the price, even with a few other upgrades.
Thank you for your quick response. I think the k50 is more in line with what I have in mind. I have a full spectrum pro 3648 but am very unhappy with the program that must be used with it. Hopefully I will be able replace the controller someday with one that I can use lightburn. I am looking for a smaller unit to use for smaller projects
I keep telling people I don’t read minds, then demonstrate the opposite. 
(lucky guess)
Send some pics of the controller, electronics, and wiring that’s in there and I can take a look.
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Ruida or Trocen is an easy swap for FSL Pro series lasers.
If that laser is working great and you just hate the controller/software, I would put your money into buying a Ruida controller and swapping things out versus spending money on another laser that is small and limited.
Sorry about confusion I am not getting rid of my fsl and I plan on getting a different controller for it. But the only info about compatibility I have been able to find was someone changed over an old hobby series fsl. I have yet to see anything on a newer pro series fsl. If anyone knows of someone or a link to information about it I would really appreciate it. I was asking about a smaller system because I wanted the ability to run more than one job at a time and l don’t intend to give fsl another dime. I would like to run lightburn on both machines to keep things simple.
It should be relatively straightforward to switch that system to a Ruida or other supported controller. I say “relatively” because it depends entirely on how comfortable you are with wiring and following the diagrams involved - I’ve done this a number of times, so while it’s a bit finicky and time consuming, it’s not “hard” for me.
The wiring is likely going to be the easier part, and setting up the machine configuration will take some time and some trial and error - homing settings, limits, step sizes, speed settings, and so on.
So before I pull the trigger and buy the k-50 do you recommend it and the company toolots and you say it is compatible with lightburn right out of the box. I just want to make sure.
I was recommending that controller - nothing more. I don’t know anything about Toolots, but that configuration is commonly found on EBay as well. Orion Motor Tech is a relatively reputable seller, and they sell on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Engraving-Machine-Engraver-Cutter-Auxiliary/dp/B07CCYLV8L That listing includes a rotary attachment, which probably adds about $150 or so to the price.
Your right adout orion motor having a similar machine but the only difference I can see is the one on toolots has a motorized z bed and the orion is manual, they both come with a rotary attachment. The toolots is about 200.00 cheaper. I am looking for a secondary machine to use while I upgrade my fsl Pro 4836 with the cohesion board and lightburn. After the upgrade I would be able to switch between them as needed. Thanks for your help. By the way what city are you in?