^Alpinerabbit- If you're not planning on sprinting to win races or achieving break-neck speeds on descents, I'd say the compact is the way to go! The crank I'm replacing on my bike this afternoon is a compact, and I really liked it except for when I'd max it out in either of those previously mentioned situations

Just to widen your options, FSA makes a 52 tooth chainring that will fit a compact BCD (bolt circle diameter- the part that attaches the crank to the rings). So, if you wanted a huge range of gears, you could go with a 52/36 compact in front (rather than the typical 50/36) and the gearing of your choice in back (personally, I'm a fan of an 11/26). I was going to go with that setup until I fell in love with the Red group & got a killer deal on a build kit.