LBS, who will be looking at my bike later today, suggested swapping my 34 chainring to a 30. I am basically looking for the best climbing with the least impact to my bike. Cost isn't so much an issue as long as the bike rides correctly. Going from 30 to 50 while shifting seems a huge jump but as they said, it isn't that much worse than a 34 to 50.

Would it be better to change the front and leave the back alone?

DH will be escorting my bike and will be reporting back to me - I'm at work.