Pretty much any of those kinds of major brands at a local bike store are going to have good bikes. The most important things, to my mind, are to try out a number of different bikes, get one that fits and feels good and get it from a store that treats you right.
What kind of bike is really based upon what you want to do and what is comfortable. I will rarely do off road but bought a Specialized Hard Rock MTB because it is tough, felt right and fit right. I ended up putting skinnier tires on it but still have the knobbies if I do some more off road stuff. MTB's just feel better to me for position9ing and control. Other people swear by road bikes and they are no doubt faster.
There isn't a whole lot of right and wrong. Get something from one of the good manufactures and one that you are comfortable on.