I've been in the same situation myself, and I asked for opinions/advice. Pretty much everyone told me the same thing: go to the range with a few friends and shoot a number of different pistols. The pistols which are "best" for you will be the ones which are most comfortable for you to shoot. If it doesn't feel right in your hand, then you probably won't shoot well with it and may not be as inclined to practice with it.
Most ranges will also let you try out a number of different configurations.
I've been told that I would do better with a $450 Glock that I practiced with than with a $5,000 Wilson Combat that didn't feel right to fire.
My .02