As someone who has also opened this can of worms on this forum, I'm willing to share my insight...I haven't tried the usual suspects (gatorskins, everwears etc) but I have had good luck with most anything that says 'hard-case' or 'thorn resistant.' Go to LBS and feel the durometer and thickness of various tires. My $30 Buttranger tire ('hard-case') has lasted 6+ times longer than the $10 version. Not sure where the sweet-spot on the price-durability curve is, but it's certainly above $30.
Oh, and +1 on the gear ratios. Makes a big difference. If you can't get yourself up to the magic 16 skid spot number, at least be really anal about rotating your tire in relation to your cranks regularly.