Good job. So many controversial subjects in a single post.

Steel frames and forks rock. Carbon fiber comes in second. Ti is 3rd. Aluminum is OK for frames, but comes in 4th ahead of bamboo. Disc brakes are the best, hands down. Side pull, v-brakes, then cantilevers, again in 4th place. BD is OK, but I don't like their marketing, and prefer building my own bikes. Probably 4th place in the world of online retailers behind Performance, Nashbar and ??. Cross bikes are OK commuters, but not as good as rigid fork MTB hardtails, touring bikes, road bikes, so again, they come in 4th.