I've been doing some research on Raleigh for my GF and Trek for myself, and found the Raleighs are very nice this year. Like Waldo said, Raleigh has been lightening their MTBs, the M60 model and above (M80, Lahar, Tess, etc) are all built with what they call Atomic 13 985 Aluminum (which is prolly a butted 7005-T6 maybe). I've ridden the M20 and compared against the M60 and there is a difference of at least a pound (maybe less, maybe more). It may just be the components, but the frame is nice too. Only problem is the color: the M60 has a nasty gold color, a decent green option. The M80 comes with a black scheme, which is nice.

For value, I'd go with Raleigh. I'd only go with Trek because they have a lifetime warranty on their Al frames (Raleigh only has a 5 year plan). Treks are a little more expensive than the Raleighs, with matched components. I think it's there to cover the warranty.