My solution is simple: First find a good wheelbuilder. Then let him recommend what to use. It's not that hard to string a wheel together, and I suppose anyone with some practice and the right tools can get it trued and tensioned uniformly, but knowing what to use and just exactly how tensioned it ought to be is the catch.

I will point out that it is a "strong light cheap pick any two" situation. The tandem wheels and the rear wheel on my single bike are Chukkers, which fall into the "strong cheap" but not light category. But they've served me well, too.