I re-thought this post and remembered that the original note asked for recommendations. Like bikemig I've built up a number of fb's. In fact most of mine are. Start with a decent frame. Any good chrome-moly will do, though anything with a brand name tubing might be better. Any brand of bike as long as the model is mid-range or higher. For example: My Centurion DS Ironman is Tange 1. The Bianchi Brava has no tubing sticker. The Raleigh GS has Reynolds main tubes and fork. The Motobecane is whatever they used. All these bikes carry frankenponents, though they are as close to their roots as I could manage and still make them as functional as I wanted. Even the Masi has some frankenponents though you probably wouldn't notice.

Frame differences will affect the riding. That subject has been discussed many times and I won't even try to summarize. But if you start with a bike designated as a road bike, you probably won't go far astray from what you want.