There are a number of quality choices in racks out there, I've been very pleased with Old Man Mountain, Jannd, and Nitto racks. There are a couple of other companies that make really nice touring racks as well, including Bruce Gordon's which if I didn't already have my Jandd I think I would have went with Gordon's rear (with the extension) for my tourer.

http://www.bgcycles.com/racks.html

The OMM racks are super-tough and lend themselves well to bikes that are difficult to mount racks to, although I'd recommend the special canti-stud bolts a couple of manufacturers offer if you go that route. Jannd Expedition racks are also super-tough, the black finish on mine is starting to wear away where I mount my panniers though. I wish they'd just offer it in naked metal, it's tempting to just remove the paint. My Nitto is absolutely gorgeous and provides options to mount panniers lower if you wish, (mine is a Big Front Rack) as well as lots of places to secure bungees when I am picking up packages or shopping, which I really like. That rack is on my commuter though, as I prefer a platform on my front rack for touring, the OMM Cold Springs gets the nod for my tourer. Usually my front racks' platform is reserved for fresh food (usually from farmers roadside stands) or six packs of beer when touring. I fit all the rest of my gear in my panniers and across the rear rack, leaving the front deck clear for things I sometimes pick up en route. I carry a plastic hooked bungee net and a couple of bungee cords specifically for this purpose.

I use Ortliebs up front when I am touring, but prefer bucket panniers for the rear. These give me a seat, table, and cutting board for when I am in camp. If I wasn't going the bucket pannier route, I'd be tempted by Arkels GT-54: http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categ...g-pannier.html
I like my Ortliebs just fine, but I've seen other ones (& similar bags from other manufacturers) that have another pocket on the outside. For me, for touring, this would be nicer, but a friend gave me these classic rollers years ago and they show no sign of dieing so I could get something else!

Someone mentioned the Novarra Randonee. When we were looking for a bike to use for both touring and commuting for my girlfriend we choose a Novarra Safari, which is their touring specific bike. As it's name suggests the Randonee is more suited to Rando rides* and although we looked at it, we decided it wasn't what we wanted for what she'd sometimes be doing with it. I've noticed a few people using the Randonee for touring though. Her Safari came with wheels that have disc hubs and rim-brake rims with V-brakes, but still has the mounting hardware on the frame and fork to put on discs (discs were standard in earlier versions). It also came with a Trekking handlebar which a lot of people like but she didn't. The downsides to the Safari IMO would be that the sizing of them are S/M/L so you'd definitely want to try it (any REI) and make sure it was big enough for you, and it came with Gripshifters which my girlfriend hated and I haven't had the best experience with durability-wise in the past, so we switched those out along with the handlebars and now she's very happy. One other potential downside of the Safari, I don't know if they are still the same color this year, but last year they only came in turd-brown.

* IIRC the Randonee has shorter chain stays, lacked mid-fork eyelets, didn't have as many water bottle cage mounts, and only came in 26". I feel like I'm forgetting something else that made the Safari a better tourer, and I may well be wrong about the Randonee, it was about a year ago that I compared them...

I can't really speak to touring bike choices as well as I can racks. My girlfriend had a price-point she was looking for a bike that she could use in-city and maybe join me bike-camping on, I don't recall what else we looked at, at that time, but we were also constrained by wanting to get something she could try out, whereas I'd be pretty comfortable having a frame shipped to me and building it up. Personally, I'm very happy with my 1988 GT Timberline for touring. It's geometry is very similar to modern touring bikes, including quite long chainstays and it does everything I want and need it to. I will say that I do drool over the King of Merica:

http://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/22/king-of-mercia

If I had the dough, and didn't have my GT, and wasn't going to have a tourer custom built, then the King of Mercia would be the way I'd go probably. That said, the Long Haul Trucker is perfectly serviceable, I like Surly as a company, and the LHT clearly has a strong fan base for good reason. I would caution against buying the Surly "Nice" Rack. I was interested in it until I learned that there have been some complaints about it failing.