Erebedragons - Your absolutely right. Talk to the guys at the LBS and explain your needs. Based on what you want to do they will guide you in the right direction. I had a "city bike" back in college for commuting from the dorm to the campus and general riding around Berkeley and Oakland. I use to go on late night rides and the city bike worked great. I even used it along the beachs of So Cal.
Now that I've gotten back into biking with my spouse (who by the way is finally breaking down to buy tomorrow a replacement bike for her 8 year old Huffy), we chose hybrids for their upright position and because it would mainly be path/trail riding on weekend trips we plan to make each month. I'm still totally happy with the Trek 7200FX.