Long story short, we moved to a new house that requires major work in the yard. At this point, we took out good 30 truckloads of old bark full of weeds, yanked out dead trees and are starting to do concrete curbing in the next few days.

After we will be done with curbing, we are bringing in good 12-18 inches of topsoil and will be ready to plant in the next month. This is where I need help - what can I do that would be affordable yet look good?

Briefly, I need help with planting something in our 100ft by 14ft area that would not block out our view (so nothing tall). Any suggestions? I don't want the same bush in a straight line but don't even know where to start to make it random yet pretty.

There are several bushes and perennial grasses that stay shorter and won't block your view. Some ninebarks stay short and are easy care and come with a variety of choices on colors of the leaves. Then there's the native version of bush honeysuckle with one example being Diervilla Kodiak® Orange.

I'll do short lists of some bushes, grasses and some perennials to help give you some direction. There will be other cultivars you can consider of each also

shrubs:
Diervilla Kodiak® Orange
Physocarpus opulifolius Tiny Wine® Gold
Physocarpus opulifolious Tiny Wine®
Fothergilla Gardenii
Weigela
Viburnum
roses

Grasses:
Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster
Panicum Cheyenne Sky
Miscanthus sinensis Morning Light

Perennials:
Echinacea aka coneflower
Rudibeckia
milkweed
lilies, daylily, oriental and Asiatic lily
hardy hibiscus
liatris
coreoptis

I would also add some ornamental trees that can handle sun like Redbud, fringe tree, magnolia and there's some others my mind blanking on.

Hope these help you some.