Another vote for the Space Horse - I love mine. Super comfortable bike, very capable on both roads and gravel. Great ride, and lots of braze-ons for racks, fenders, and a frame pump. The stock brakes (Tektro CR720's) are very powerful when set up properly and equipped with Kool-Stop pads.

A nearly identical bike (geometry-wise) to the Space Horse, with disc brakes, is the Raleigh Tamland 1, which costs around $1,600. I think discs are completely unnecessary unless you plan to ride often in the rain or mud, but some folks do like them.

You sound like you would really benefit from a rear rack, which does greatly increase the utility of your bike. I wouldn't bother with any of the offerings that do not include a rack mount. Also keep in mind that the racier bikes (like the Straggler) have pretty short chainstays, and you may get heel strike when panniers are on the bike. The Space Horse and Tamland (and the Vaya, which was also mentioned) all have 440-450 mm chainstays, which should be long enough to avoid heel-strike with most riders. I commuted on a short-chainstay CX bike for a couple of years and really hated the heel strike (but I have big feet).