And that's the key, Baskingshark--you have to ride some different bikes, and the one you buy has to feel good to you, regardless of what the LBS folks say. Which is not to say that they don't often provide some useful guidance, but in the end it's all a matter of how you feel on the machine on the road.

Having said that, I thought I'd post a quote from Bicycling's Interbike blog:

Raleigh and DB have entered the women’s bike field with a confidence-inspiring flat-bar road bike (DB Kalos, $550) and a selection of road bikes: the DB Zelos, $655, and the Raleigh Intrigue 1.0 ($655) and 2.0 ($980), all available in
November.

That flat-bar road bike sounds like it might be a player, if you've got a Raleigh dealer nearby.