I ended up buying a weird oddity of a bike, the Kona Dew Drop for $560. It's not labeled "cyclocross", but it has drop bars, sort of a mtn bike frame, good granny gearing for my knees, & will take huge tires, so it fits what I wanted which was a bike for riding on paved roads & the ability to turn off on some logging roads when I felt like it. It's pretty heavy, but as a beginner that means pretty much nothing to me. Felt comfortable because it has a little more upright riding position & I liked it's weirdness, and the price was right.
I tested cyclocross bikes, hard-tail mtn bikes, & full suspension mtn bikes & was ready to spend over $1000 if I got on something & just loved it, but nothing felt right. Then I was about to leave one of the stores & happened to see the Dew Drop in my size sitting there, so I figured what the heck, and it turned out to be my favorite. None of the bikes really bothered my knee too much, so that's good. They sure do hurt your butt though.
Anyway I'm glad to be done shopping. Since I didn't spend much I figure I can always upgrade later on if I figure out I want something completely different.
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