I dislike the Trek brand due to the fraud perpetrated by Lance Armstrong and his association with the Trek brand, although I do like the Trek bike I own. I'm partial to the Surly branded frames, as are many others here at BF.
Your best bet is to go to your local bike store (aka LBS) and see what they sell. Test ride many bikes in your price range and ask lots of questions. Let us know when you have narrowed your choices to a few. Keep in mind that the frame is usually the only part of a bike that is actually branded by the manufacturer. Almost everything else is just parts manufactured by some other company, such as Shimano, attached to the frame. The brand of a frame is pretty much irrelevant until you get into higher end bikes.