Don't forget about fit!!!

You'll find people who like and dislike every material.

I started out on a Trek 5000 3 seasons ago. It was the perfect bike to get me into road riding (far lighter than anything I'd ridden before), but now I know it isn't the dream bike for me.

The ride is very dampened- at first this feels so smooth and comfortable. Now it just feels dead by the end of a ride. In addition the geometry of the non-WSD Trek bikes is not right for me (top tube is too long and I couldn't adequatetely reach the drops). A professional fitting, shorter stem, and straight seatpost helped immensely, but I think it could still be better.

I'm in the process of buying a custom steel or ti bike. That said, if you're new to riding, you don't want to put the money into a custom bike since you don't really know what you want. There may be fewer stock steel bikes out there and titanium is pretty pricey.

Try out some different bikes and see what you like. Whatever you get, make sure it fits reasonably well.