Actually, I find my interest in changing my bike is waning rather than increasing.
I'd much rather get my bike's fit correct and work on the engine.
I don't think you need to worry about wheels
as long as a) they are well-made and robust, and b) you're not doing competitive LD's. If this is the case, I recommend you ignore your friend.
If you still need to chance, fwiw I tend to prefer Mavic. You don't need anything too special, even CXP22's are fine as long as the wheelbuilder knows what he's doing. But it sounds like it's going to depend on what's available in the first place.